St Mary Major & St. Prudencia

Saint Mary Major is widely believed to be the most important church dedicated to Mary in Western Christendom. Under the papal altar rest five pieces of sycamore from the manger in Bethlehem, along with the cloths in which tradition holds Jesus’ small body was wrapped. This has earned the basilica another name, Saint Mary of the Crib. One of the most amazing aspects of this church is the miracle that took place in the fourth century.

The Miracle of Snow

In the year 352, during the pontificate of Pope Liberius, a pious and wealthy Roman couple without heirs made a vow to donate all their earthly possessions to the church and to the Virgin Mary. The couple asked for a miracle to our Lady, and during the night our Lady appeared in a dream to John, the husband. She told him that in the morning, in a place in the city of Rome, they would spot the presence of snow, and they had to build a new church dedicated to Our Lady. That is exactly what happened. This miracle prompted people to also call the basilica Our Lady of the Snows.

Construction and Consecration

The present church was built under Pope Celestine I in the next century. He consecrated it on August 5, 434, to the Virgin Mary, after the Council of Ephesus affirmed Mary as Mother of God.

Among the Basilica’s most important relics are the remains of Saint Matthew and Saint Jerome.

The Basilica houses the most important Marian icon, the Salus Populi Romani. Tradition attributes the image to Saint Luke the Evangelist, the Patron Saint of painters. Pope Francis (as well as Pope St. John Paul II) entrusted his Apostolic Journeys to the protection of the Salus Populi Romani, which he visited before every departure and after every return.

Seven Popes, including Pope Francis, are buried in the Basilica.

The Basilica of Santa Prassede – among the oldest churches in Rome – stands on the Esquiline hill, where, according to tradition, the house of Senator Pudens once stood. Pudens, who had converted to Christianity, had two daughters, Pudenziana and Prassede, who were also attracted by the love of Christ and dedicated themselves to protecting Christians during times of persecution. The care which these young women showed towards the martyrs was characterized by great affection and devotion: they collected not only the bodies of those who had been killed, but even mopped up their blood with a sponge and poured it into a well. They too, however, were to become victims of the Roman Empire’s brutal repression of Christianity. Pudens was killed under the emperor Nero (64-66 AD), while his daughters were martyred at the time of Antoninus Pius (around the year 160).In a pillar in front of the sanctuary area a plaque commemorates the presence of relics of many witnesses of the faith, which are now preserved in the crypt; which also houses the sarcophagi of the two holy sisters, who are depicted in the apse painting. The mosaics of the sanctuary area, dating back to the 9th century, dominate the entire church.St. Cyril, the apostle of the Slavic peoples, often stopped here for lengthy periods. Therefore, the basilica has a special connection with Slovakia.The church we see today was begun at the end of the 8th century by Pope Adrian I (r. 772-95) and completed by Pope Paschal I (r. 817-24).

The mosaics in the apse, and on the triumphal arch, were created during the reign of Pope Paschal I (r. 817-24). The apse mosaic depicts St. Giovanni Gualberto being venerated by angels. The mosaic in the vault depict Vallombrosan Monks and Nuns Venerating the Virgin Mary’s Assumption into Heaven.

Click on an image to open the photo viewer.