SAINTS FOR ALL SEASONS
SAINT MARY MAJOR

By Brother Patrick

Wherever we are in the world, we can stand in spirit, in spiritual communion, with pilgrims and parishioners at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, Italy. We gather in spirit around a miraculous icon of the Blessed Mother called Salus Populi Romani or Savior of the Roman People.

On August 5, 538, during the early hours after midnight, snow fell upon the Esquiline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. During this miraculous summer night, God appeared in the dreams of Pope Liberius and members of a prominent Roman family. The Lord beckoned them to build a church on the hill in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Eighteen centuries later, the Basilica of Saint Mary Major still holds a special place in the hearts of Catholics in the Diocese of Rome and Catholics all around the world. Each year on August 5th, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. As Mass concludes, a cascade of white rose petals is dropped from above the sanctuary as a reenactment of the Miracle of the Snows.

The Eternal City of Rome has four great basilicas: Saint Peter, Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and Saint Mary Major. In this way, the Blessed Mother is honored as an essential figure in the founding of God’s Holy Church, along with Saint Peter, Saint John the Beloved Disciple, and Saint Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles.

Inside the Basilica of Saint Mary Major is an ancient icon of the Blessed Virgin through which she is venerated as Salus Populi Romani, Savior of the Roman People or Protector & Health of the Roman People. Tradition holds that the icon was copied from an original painted by Saint Luke; and that it appeared miraculously in another church built elsewhere by Saint Peter and Saint John. In the late sixth century, the icon was brought to Rome and placed in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major by Saint Gregory the Great.

Although created centuries ago, devotion to this icon has intensified in recent years because of reverence shown to it by a succession of modern popes: Pius XII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. Most recently, Pope Francis has shown a deep devotion to this icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the day after his election as pope, he made a pilgrimage to the basilica and prayed before the icon. During the first year of his pontificate, he visited the icon on at least six more occasions. Since then, Pope Francis has returned many times, sometimes with great fanfare and sometimes more quietly as a simple pilgrim who carries with him a small bouquet of flowers for Our Lady’s sacred image.

After almost every visit, the pope offers some words of wisdom about Mary’s powerful prayers for us and for the whole world. In July 2013, for example, after a long journey home from World Youth Day in Brazil, the Holy Father went directly from the airport to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where he offered prayers for young people and for peace.

During that same year, Pope Francis prayed the Rosary before the icon and offered a brief reflection about the Blessed Mother’s role in our lives. He said: “Mary is a mother who always worries about the health of her children. She knows how to care for us with great and tender love. She guards our health. What does it mean that Our Lady guards our health? Above all, it means three things: she helps us to grow; she helps us to face life; and she helps us to be free.” On January 28, 2018, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on the Feast of the Translation of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani. During his homily, the Holy Father said:

“Just as the disciple beneath the cross received the Blessed Mother, and ‘took her into his home (John 19:27)’, so we too…invite Mary into our homes, into our hearts, and into our lives. We cannot stand neutral or separated from our Mother because we will lose our identity as sons and daughters (of God the Father) and our identity as a people, and we will live out a Christianity made up of ideas and plans, without commitment, without tenderness, and without a heart. And without a heart, there is not love and the faith runs the risk of becoming just a nice story from another age. Our Mother, on the other hand, safeguards and teaches her sons and daughters. She loves us and protects us, so that we may love and protect the world. Let us invite our Mother into our daily lives, let us make her a constant presence in our homes, our certain refuge. May we give every day to her. May we invoke her during every storm. And let us not forget to thank her.”

Time and time again, Pope Francis reminds us that Mary loves us, Mary protects us, Mary strengthens us, and Mary helps us to be better people. He also reminds us that Mary’s prayers are powerful because she stands alone as the true and perfect disciple. She raises the Lord with a mother’s unfailing love. She walks with the Lord as he preaches to the people of Galilee. She suffers with him at the foot of the cross. She rejoices with him when he rises from death. And she listens intently to the Lord’s every word and then she acts on it.

According to Pope Francis, action is the key to discipleship. He once said: “The disciple truly puts his [or her] entire life at the service of the Gospel.” In order to do so, we need the Blessed Mother as our example, our intercessor, and our protector. We need her love, her prayers, and her witness to make the most of the one life that God has given to us.

As we commemorate the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, let us remember the ancient image that evokes Our Lady as the disciple who devotes her life to the Gospel and who loves and protects all of God’s children. And let us pray with the words of Pope Francis:

O Mary,
you shine light on our journey
as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you,
Health of the Sick,
who at the foot of the cross
was united with the suffering of Jesus
and persevered in faith.

Protector of God’s People,
you know what we need
and we know that you will provide,
so that as at Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and feasting
after a time of trial.

Help us,
Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do what Jesus tells us,
for he took upon himself our suffering
and burdened himself with our sorrows
to bring us, through the cross,
to the joy of resurrection.

Holy Mother of God,
under your protection,
we seek refuge.
Do not disdain our petitions,
but deliver us always
from every danger,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us! Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us! Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us! Our Lady, Protector & Health of the Roman People, pray for us! Our Lady, Protector & Health of All People Everywhere, pray for us and for our troubled world!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brother Patrick Garvey is co-founder and spiritual director of the Assisi Project. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Saint John Seminary, and the Catholic University of America. He is a writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and university lecturer. He also serves as an Associate Minister in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport in Massachusetts. On October 3, 2023, the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi, Brother Patrick was consecrated as a diocesan hermit by Bishop Mark O’Connell, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston. For more information about the Assisi Project and our ministries with adults of all ages and backgrounds, please contact Brother Patrick at brpatrick@assisiproject.com.

Photo Credit: Vatican News

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ABOUT US

Founded in 2007, the Assisi Project is a Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit with friends and followers throughout the world. We are dedicated to helping Christian believers of all ages more faithfully live the Gospel of Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. The Assisi Project is a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization. All are welcome to support our ministry via PayPal (see link below); or by sending a tax-deductible donation to the Assisi Project, Post Office Box 3158, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01931-3158. For more information about the Assisi Project, please contact Cliff Garvey at cgarvey@assisiproject.com. May the Lord give you peace!

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