Day 8 - Wednesday of 1st week of Lent - Santa Maria Maggiore

Today we stand on the Esquiline Hill, in front of the second of the Papal Basilicas, and the heart of Marian Devotion in the Church. There are 25 Marian churches in Rome, but of them all, this is the grandest and the largest. Here, as in the New Testament, Mary's presence is felt much more than heard. In the New Testament, it is fascinating to ponder that Mary's last words are spoken at the site of Jesus' first miracle. Like team members in a relay race, she hands the baton to her son with her words to the servants at Cana, "Do whatever He tells you." In the Scriptures, Mary never speaks again, but still she is ever pointing the way to her Divine Son — for she is Theotokos, "Mother of God."

Above: The Wedding at Cana by Giotto - Scrovegni Chapel

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGiotto_-_Scrovegni_-_-24-_-_Marriage_at_Cana.jpgGiotto [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

True Marian piety is always Christological, orienting us toward the Son of God, as he is revealed in his glory, in the mystery of the Trinity. Per Mariam ad Jesum! To Jesus through Mary! we say in our Marian consecration. Mary never fails to turn our hearts, indeed, the very eyes of our souls toward her son, Our Lord. And He reveals Himself to us, as He truly is, through the wisdom of the mother.

After centuries of pondering these mysteries, the Church in the fifth century, established the first of the Marian dogmas at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and attributed to Mary the title, "Mother of God." This dogma was a natural consequence of the Council's definition of the Person of the Eternal Son of God, in which they declared the revealed truth, that in Christ there are two natures: a divine nature, and a human nature — but He is only one Person, not two.

Twenty years later, at the Council of Chalcedon, the Church expressed this truth, incorporating Divine Motherhood in this way: "...begotten from the Father before the ages as regards his godhead, and in the last days, the same, begotten from the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, as regards his manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten…"

According to the Council, the Divine Person, Christ, is begotten of the Father before all ages, with regard to His godhood. The holy virgin carried that same Divine Person in her womb, and when she gave birth to Him, he was still the same Person that He had been eternally. Therefore, the human Person that Mary delivered, according to the flesh, was still God — and since she is His mother, she is the Mother of God. She is not the mother of the Divine Nature (which is co-eternal with the Father), nor is she only the mother of the human nature — rather, she is the mother of the Person, and the Person is God in the flesh. And so we see that the statement about Mary's Divine Motherhood is not so much a statement about her, as it is a statement about her Son, and as such, is an integral part of authoritative Church teaching about Christ.

These Councils of Ephesus and of Chalcedon, and their declaration of the revealed Truth, that Mary is Mother of God (Theotokos), play an important role in the story of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major).

Even before Santa Maria Maggiore stood here, there was a church on this site. It was called the Basilica Liberii, referring back to Pope Liberius who ruled the Church from 352-366. In August of 352, Pope Liberius had a vision of Our Lady, who traced out the dimensions of that church. That same night, a Roman noblewoman had an identical dream in which Our Lady ordered a church to be erected in a place where snow would fall in the middle of Summer. The next day, the Esquiline hill was covered with a miraculous summer snowfall that covered the ground just where the church was to stand. To this day, St Mary Major is referred to at times as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows.

Eighty years later in 432, one year after the Council of Ephesus proclaimed the dogma of Mary, Mother of God, Pope Sixtus III began construction on a new Basilica to honor Our Lady as Mother of God — a church which would overshadow this exclusive imperial neighborhood with all its palaces and its temples to pagan goddesses.

Left: The Virgin Mary and Our Lord overlook Pope Liberius outlining the foundation of the basilica into the snow.

By Masolino da Panicale. 15th-century http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMasolino% 2C_fondazione_di_santa_maria_maggiore.jpg Masolino da Panicale [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The following video will let you enjoy the annual commemoration of the miraculous snowfall.

The Piazza and Church of Santa Maria Maggiore 1700's

by Giovanni Paolo Pannini

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGiovanni_Paolo_Pannini_-_The_Piazza_and_Church_of_Santa_Maria_Maggiore.jpg [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Facade of St Mary Major - Rome

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABasilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore_-_8.jpg

Santa Maria Maggiore - exterior Front

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASantaMariaMaggiore_front.jpg By JACurran at en.wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia) [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

View of the apse (posterior) aspect of Santa Maria Maggiore, with the obelisk

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APiazza_Esquilino%2C_Santa_Maria_Maggiore.JPGBy Sixtus (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Below: Front view of the Church at night

https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20250707140752_464faab1cb1d08cadfd74acc58593bc401fe464037b0ae3148722302df96c8de.webp

Below: Main Doors of the Basilica

https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/ File%3ABasilique_ Sainte-Marie-Majeure%2C_porte_ d'entr%C3%A9e_(2). JPG

https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/ File%3ABasilique_ Sainte-Marie-Majeure%2C_porte_ d'entr%C3%A9e.JPG

The interior of Santa Maria Maggiore is stately and elegant, but not overbearing, and is appropriately feminine in contrast to the basilicas of St John Lateran and St. Peter in the Vatican. The gilded ceiling speaks of heavenly wealth, and in the apse mosaic, Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven by her Divine Son, but the basic basilica style gives an air of simplicity and the overall atmosphere is one of maternal nurturing.

Interior of the Basilica of St Mary Major (above)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARom%2C_ Basilika_Santa_Maria_Maggiore%2C_Innenansicht.jpg By Dnalor 01 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The side of the Nave

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A001126_1_smm_navata_1.jpg

High altar with the confessio seen underneath - almost appears that the high altar is floating over the confessio!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanta_Maria_Maggiore_(Rome)_05.jpg

The Apse seen behind the baldacchino

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanta_Maria_Maggiore_(Rome)_03.jpg

Apse

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABasilica_Santa_Maria_Maggiore_2011_8.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABasilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore6.JPG

View toward the Pauline Chapel -

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARom%2C_Santa_Maria_Maggiore%2C_Blick_zur_Kapelle_Cappella_Paolina.JPG

Side wall of the Pauline Chapel - you can see the enlargement of the central statue of Pope Clement VIII below

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACappella_paolina_o_borghese%2C_monum_di_paolo_V_del_ponzio_con_cariatidi_di_pietro_bernini_01.JPG

Pope Clement VIII

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AClement_VIII_SM_Maggiore.jpg

A number of Popes are buried here in Santa Maria Maggiore:

Pope Clement VIII
Pope Honorius III
Pope Clement IX - who brought the Papacy back to Rome after the "Babylonian Captivity" in Avignon, France
Pope Nicholas IV
Saint Pope Pius V - the Dominican Pope who was instrumental in the great victory at the battle of Lepanto.
Pope Sixtus V

Here is a link to an article about the Popes buried here. Did you know that Pope Francis has designated St Mary Major as the site for his eventual tomb?

And also our friend St Jerome whom we met earlier at St. Anastasia

Ceiling of the Pauline Chapel

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACapilla_Paolina_Santa_Maria_Maggiore_01.JPG

Dome of the Pauline Chapel

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanta_Maria_Maggiore%2C_cappella_Paolina_cupola.JPG

Dome of the Pauline Chapel

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AInterior_of_Santa_Maria_Maggiore_(Rome)_-_Cappella_Paolina.jpg

Mosaic from the Nave of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Life of Moses

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASMM_Nave_Mosaic.jpgBy Ulrich Mayring (photo taken by Ulrich Mayring) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Mosaic in the Triumphal arch

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARomaSantaMariaMaggioreArcoTrionfaleDxRegistro4.jpg

Sistine Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore - Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AS.m._maggiore%2C_cappella_del_ss._sacramento_(sistina)%2C_del_fontana_(1584-7)_con_amrmi_dal_settizionio_05.JPG

Altar of Sistine Chapel and Oratory of the Nativity

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanta_Maria_Maggiore_(Rome)_06.jpg By User:MatthiasKabel (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ciborium of the Sistine Chapel - Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACiborium_Torrigiani_SM_Maggiore.jpg

Dome of the cupola of the Sistine Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACupola_SM_Maggiore.jpg

Entrance to the Borghese Chapel

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABasilica_Santa_Maria_Maggiore_2011_10.jpg

We will explore the Borghese Chapel Further during our next visit to this marvelous Basilica.

The Borghese Chapel

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASantamariamaggiore2b.jpgm By Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys) (taken by Ricardo André Frantz) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Mosaic in the Apse of Santa Maria Maggiore - the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AApse_mosaic_SM_Maggiore.jpg By Jastrow (Own work (own picture)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Above: The Baptistery of St Mary Major

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AInterior_of_Santa_Maria_Maggiore_(Rome)_04.jpg

Left: Baptismal Font

The statue of St. John the Baptist is by Luigi Valadier ; in the background, the relief of the Assumption is by Bernini.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABaptismal_font_SM_Maggiore.jpg

Every year on the 5th of August, there is a celebration of the liturgical feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, once called the Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snows. A charming custom is still kept which commemorates the story of the miraculous snowfall in the days of Pope Liberius. At the conclusion of the Solemn Mass in the basilica, a shower of white rose petals is dropped from the dome.

Our Mother Mary will be our hostess again here in this great church on the Wednesday of Holy Week when we will explore the Borghese chapel above in more detail — it contains a relic that has repeatedly brought popes and saints here on their knees. We will also return here with Mary in triumph on Easter Sunday when, among other things, she will reveal for us the blessed relic that is preserved in the Crypt of the Nativity under the high altar.

Until then, enjoy exploring the basilica in the virtual tour below, and look forward to Our Lady joining us on our Pilgrimage after the Resurrection.

The collect church for Wednesday of the first week of Lent is San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter in Chains)which we visited 2 days ago!

See you early tomorrow morning! Our little cloud of witnesses, our friends the saints who travel with us, will be waiting to introduce us to St Lawrence at his station at St Lawrence in Panisperna. They will be very glad to see him: he was always a favorite. In fact, after St Peter and St Paul, he is the third patron of Rome! Rest well tonight, my fellow pilgrims, snuggled into that special place, just for you, in the great cloud of witnesses of our friends the saints.

Optional activities, videos, music,etc.:

VIRTUAL TOUR - Magnificent music, and your mouse will reveal 360° views - amazing!

Click below to be redirected:

Interesting piece of trivia: This is the Church where Pope Francis will be one day be buried.

Left: a video with explanation and virtual views of the church

Don't forget to enlarge the video by clicking the square in the right lower corner after you start the video.

Below: An offering from our Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic brothers

Hymn for the Mother of God - Theotokos, in Church-Slavonic.

St.Sergius & Herman of Valaam church. Valaam. Russia. 1998.

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