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How many churches have been built in a particular location because of divine intervention? St. Mary Major ( Santa Maria Maggiore in Italian) is just such a church. According to legend, on the night of August 4th, 352, the Virgin Mary appeared to a wealthy Roman patrician, named Giovanni, and told him to build a church on the site where he would find snow in the morning. The next morning Giovanni went to tell Pope Liberius about his dream. Pope Liberius (352-366) also had a dream where the Virgin Mary had told him to find snow on Esquiline Hill, and there he was to outline the size of a church that was to be built. The first church known to have been built on the site was done by Pope Sixtus III (432-440) after the Council of Ephesus which was held in 431, during which Mary was defined as the Mother of God. The church that Sixtus build was the first church in Rome to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was the largest and most important church dedicated to her and subsequently became known as Santa Maria Maggiore.
 
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<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/130.jpg' height='200'> 
Roman Basilicas - St. Mary Major Scott 130 (1949)</center>

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<img style='border-radius: 4%' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/cms/images/Vatican/SantaMariaMaggioreFront.jpg' height="300">
<img style='border-radius: 4%' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/cms/images/Vatican/SantaMariaMaggioreBack.jpg' height="300">
 
▲ Pictured above is the front (left) and back (right) photo of Santa Maria Maggiore 
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<a title="Jordiferrer, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2016_Basilica_of_Saint_Mary_Major_013.jpg"><img style='border-radius: 4%' height="400" alt="2016 Basilica of Saint Mary Major 013" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/2016_Basilica_of_Saint_Mary_Major_013.jpg/512px-2016_Basilica_of_Saint_Mary_Major_013.jpg"></a> 
▲ St. Mary Major - Aspe Mosiac
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The mosaic of the Coronation of the Virgin, shown above, was completed in 1295. It shows the Savior and Virgin seated on the same cushioned, jeweled throne with the Savior placing a crown on the Virgin's head with their feet on a footrest. The Savior holds a book in his left hand displaying a message which reads Come, my chosen one, and I will place you on my throne. Both are encircled with stars, with the sun and moon toward the bottom of the circle. There are nine angles looking upwards toward the scene. Sts. Peter, Paul, and Francis of Assisi are on the right, Sts. John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, and Anthony of Padua on the left. 
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<tr><td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/448.jpg' height='200'> St. Peter Scott 448 (1967)</td><td>      </td>
<td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/449.jpg' height='200'> St. Paul Scott 449 (1967)</td><td>  </td>
<td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/607.jpg' height='200'> St.Frances Of Assisi Scott 607 (1977)</td></tr>
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<td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/993.jpg' height='200'> St. Anthony of Padua Scott 993 (1995)</td><td>      </td>
<td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/C58.jpg' height='200'> St.John Evangelist Scott C58 (1971)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><img style='border-radius: 4%' height='400' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/cms/images/Vatican/StMaryMajorAltar.jpg'> 
▲ The Main Papal Alter</td><td>  </td>
<td> <img style='border-radius: 4%' height='400' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/cms/images/Vatican/StMaryMajorPiusIX.jpg'> 
▲ Pius IX Confession Chapel</td></tr>
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The present altar was built in 1747 by Ferdinando Fuga using four columns from the fifteenth century. The gilded bronze palm branches encircling the columns were added by Giuseppe Valadier in 1823. The columns have Corinthian capitals and Pope Benedict XIV's coat of arms at the base. The urn below the altar has the relics of the Apostle Mathew, St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, and other martyrs. 
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<tr><td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/C55.jpg' height='200'> St Mathew Scott C55 (1971)</td><td>  </td>
<td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1244.jpg' height='200'> Stoning of St Stephen Scott 1244 (2003)</td><td>  </td>
<td align='center'><img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/256.jpg' height='200'> St. Larence Scott 256 (1959)</td></tr>
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In front and slightly below the main altar is the confession, which Pope Pius IX had enlarged by Virginio Vespignani. The relic of Christ's manger is located above the lower altar in this area. At the back of the confessional area is a statue of Pope Pius IV by Ercole Ferrata, kneeling in prayer.

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<a title="it:Utente:Riccardov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sacra_culla.jpg"><img style='border-radius: 4%' height='300' alt="Sacra culla" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Sacra_culla.jpg/512px-Sacra_culla.jpg"></a> 
▲ Reliquium Containing Wood From The Nativity Crib Of Christ
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<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/632.jpg' height='200'>
<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/633.jpg' height='200'>
<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/634.jpg' height='200'> 
Centenary Of The Death Of Pope Pius IX Scott 632 -634 (1978) 
<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1144.jpg' height='200'> 
Jubilee Popes - Pius IX Scott 1144 (2000)</center>

With the rise of nationalism and the formation of the Italian government, the Popes lived strictly inside the Vatican. From 20 September 20, 1870 until the signing of the Lateran Treaty on February 11, 1929 Popes did not leave the Vatican, not wanting to give any appearance of accepting the authority of the Italian government. They would not appear at Saint Peter's Square or on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica facing the area. So, where did they go when the self-imposed isolation ended? You guessed it, Pope Pius XI's first visit outside the Vatican in 1929 was to St. Mary Major. 
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<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/174.jpg' height='200'>
<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/175.jpg' height='200'> 
25th Anniversary Of The Signing Of The Lateran Pacts Scott 174 & 175 (1954) 
<img src='https://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1146.jpg' height='200'> 
Jubilee Popes - Pius XI Scott 1146 (2000)</center>

References 
• George Weigel, "Wednesday Of Holy Week - Station at St. Mary Major" Roman Pilgrimage - The Station Churches Basic Books, Copyright 2013, pages 312-319 
• Joseph N. Tylenda, S. J, "S. Maria Maggiore" The Pilgrim's Guide To Rome's Principal Churches The Liturgical Press, Copyright 1993, pages 40-52 
• <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Maggiore'>Santa Maria Maggiore</a> Wikipedia

Photographs of the apse dome and the crib reliquium are from the Wikipedia article cited above. All other photographs shown on this webpage are from the photo collection Marvin Lanahan.

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