Apparition
Our Lady of the Snows and the Founding of Saint Mary Major
Private revelation · Esquiline Hill, Rome, Italy
A Roman tradition tells that in the fourth century, in the time of Pope Liberius, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to a childless patrician named John and to the Pope himself, asking that a church be built where snow would fall in the height of summer; on the morning of 5 August snow was found lying on the Esquiline Hill, and the basilica of Saint Mary Major was raised there.
Background
The legend of the snow is a pious tradition first attested centuries after the events it describes; the Church has made no judgement on it, and what she celebrates on 5 August is the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, the greatest of the Roman churches of Our Lady. The story is still commemorated each year at the basilica with a fall of white petals. Many churches and shrines around the world bear the title Our Lady of the Snows, which comes from this tradition.
Location
Esquiline Hill, Rome
Country
Italy
Approved status
Private revelation
Visionaries
- a Roman patrician named John
- Pope Liberius
Subject
marian
Feast day
August 5
Content subtype
unapproved_apparition