Santa Maria Maggiore {Basilica of Saint Mary Major}

before coming to Rome, i had no idea that there was not just one papal basilica (St. Peter's), but four! in fact, St. Peter's isn't even the actual cathedral or papal seat. that honor belongs to St. John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano), which we visited last fall. there's also St. Paul's Outside the Walls (San Paolo Fuori le Mura), the burial place of St. Paul, which Nick has been to a few times on his own. and finally, there is St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), where we attended Sunday mass in late January. of note, there is no church (as far as i know!) called St. Mary Minor -- this church is simply called "Major" to differentiate it from the numerous other churches dedicated to Mary!

the church itself was built in the fifth century, and the legend of its construction is quite famous. a Roman nobleman and his wife were unable to have children of their own, and thus they decided to use the money from their estate to finance a church dedicated to Mary. in August of the year 358 A.D., Mary appeared to them in a dream and told them to build the church on the site where snow would miraculously fall. the next day, snow fell on a patch of ground atop the Esquiline Hill, and they built the basilica on the very spot. now, every year on August 5, white rose petals are dropped from the dome after mass to celebrate the dedication of the church and recreate the miraculous snowfall.

obviously, we missed the famous rose petal spectacle, but we just so happened to be there on the one year anniversary of the dedication of a new shrine for the Salus Populi Romani icon. this icon features a painting of Mary and baby Jesus, and there are varying ideas about exactly how old it is. tradition holds that it was painted by St. Luke himself, and then brought to Rome by St. Helena (the mother of Constantine). the current consensus from art historians is that the icon likely dates from the Late Antique period (late sixth or early seventh century), but there are multiple layers of paint, making precise dating impossible. the name Salus Populi Romani is a reference to Mary as the Protectress of the Roman People, and the icon has been carried around Rome and venerated at various difficult times during Roman history (for example, during outbreaks of the plague). the icon was moved to a permanent shrine in the Pauline Chapel of the basilica on January 28, 1613. in 2017, Pope Francis had the icon restored, and he officiated at a Pontifical Mass in January 2018 on the anniversary of the icon's installation in the shrine. and now, one year later, we happened to be at mass on that very date! we knew nothing of the history of the icon at the time, but we could tell something special was going on. the church was packed, and there were guards in their best regalia stationed around the church. at one point, a large group processed up with a huge bouquet of flowers that would later be placed at the shrine.

the Pauline Chapel, with the Salus Populi Romani icon above the altar

the entire church is a riot of grandeur. the coffered ceiling is gilded with gold brought from the Americas by Christopher Columbus, and then gifted to Pope Alexander VI by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

mass concluded with an epic procession, including not only the clerics but also various lay religious orders such as the Knights of Malta (and their Dames, wearing black mantillas!).

after mass, we explored the rest of the church. the present baldacchino dates from 1750, and the porphyry altar there contains relics of St. Matthew the Apostle, St. Faustina, St. Beatrix, St. Stephen, and St. Lawrence. underneath the baldacchino is the open crypt, in which is displayed a reliquary containing five pieces of wood said to be from Jesus' manger (the Sacra Culla, the Holy Manger). it is said that these were brought to Rome in the seventh century by Pope Theodore I, after the fall of Jerusalem in 638.

the stone covering the crypt of the Bernini family is just a few steps away. the great sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini himself is buried here as well. his epitaph reads: Ioannes Laurentius Bernini, decus artium et Urbis, hic humiliter quiescit ("Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the glory of the arts and of the city, here rests humbly").

the Cappella Sistina was built by and named after Pope Sixtus V (not to be confused with the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museums!). the pope was buried here in 1590. it is also known as the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and tabernacle also dates from 1590. prior to the construction of the Cappella Sistina, another chapel dedicated to the Holy Manger stood in this place. it was here at the altar of the Cappella del Presepe that St. Ignatius of Loyola celebrated his first mass, on Christmas Eve, 1538.

beautiful thirteenth-century mosaics decorate the apse, depicting the life of Mary -- and original fifth-century mosaics line the ceiling around the nave, although it's difficult to make out much detail due to the lighting.

it was at this point that we were finally able to see the Salus Populi Romani icon for ourselves. it is enshrined in the Cappela Paolina (the Pauline Chapel), which was built by and named for Pope Paul V in 1611. legend states that Pope St. Gregory the Great carried the icon around Rome in 593 during an outbreak of the plague. during this procession, he saw a vision of St. Michael the Archangel standing atop Hadrian's mausoleum. because of this vision, Hadrian's mausoleum was renamed Castel Sant'Angelo, and is now topped by a huge sculpture of St. Michael (which Cecilia unfailingly points out to us whenever we pass it!). in addition to displaying the famous icon, this chapel also served as the burial place for the influential Borghese family. the tombs of Pope Paul V, Pope Clement VIII, and Pauline Bonaparte (Napoleon's younger sister, who married into the Borghese family) are all here.

the dome of the Cappella Paolina. this is traditionally where they drop the flower petals on August 5. 

"Mama, i want to take a pictcha!" 

i spy some very serious cherubim playing in the curtains

at this point, preparations were underway for the next mass. we listened to a bit of the prelude music before quickly finishing our tour of the church.

this statue of the Madonna and Child was commissioned at the end of World War I in 1918 by Pope Benedict XV, under the title of "Queen of Peace". 

i absolutely love the power in her gesture! 

the baptistery is absolutely incredible. the relief on the altarpiece depicts the Assumption of Mary, and it was carved by Pietro Bernini (Gian Lorenzo's father). the baptismal font itself is an ancient porphyry basin, donated from the Vatican Museum collection by Pope Leo XII in 1825. 

at this point, the girls were getting a little rowdy, so we slipped back outside to admire the facade of the church. the twelfth-century bell tower is the tallest in Rome, and it was rebuilt in the 1370s by Pope Gregory XI when he returned to Rome from Avignon. the current facade dates from the late 1700s. 

a statue of the Madonna and Child tops the second story, flanked by statues of four popes

the Column of Peace (Colonna della Pace) was taken from the gigantic Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum. it was
erected here in 1614 and topped with a bronze statue of the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. 

then we made our way back home in the timid mizzle, feeling especially well churched!