Basilica of Saint Mary Major
As you stand with the “basilica papale” of Santa Maria Maggiore in front of you, you’re looking at Rome’s largest Marian church—and one of the city’s Seven Pilgrim Churches. It’s dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Snow, a devotion tied to a legend connected with a vow made in the 4th century during the pontificate of Liberius. Inside, the basilica safeguards major relics: the holy crib of the Child Jesus and the venerated image of Salus Populi Romani, showing the Madonna and Child as patroness and protectress of the Roman people. That image was granted a canonical coronation by Pope Gregory XVI through the papal bull *Cælestis Regina Maxima* on 15 August 1838. …
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