Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

For other uses, see Santa Maria Maggiore (disambigua-tion).

The Basilica di SantaMariaMaggiore (English: Basil-ica of Saint Mary Major, Latin: Basilica Sanctae MariaeMaioris),[2] or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is thelargest Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy.Other churches in Rome dedicated to Mary include SantaMaria in Trastevere, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, and SantaMaria sopra Minerva, but the greater size of the Basilicaof Saint Mary Major justifies the adjective by which it isdistinguished from the other 25.According to the 1929 Lateran Treaty, the basilica lo-cated in Italian territory is owned by the Holy See andenjoys extraterritorial status similar to that of foreignembassies.[Notes 2] The building is patrolled internally bypolice agents of Vatican City State, not by Italian police.It is located on Piazza del Esquilino, number 34, somefive blocks southwest of the Stazione Termini.

1 Other names

The church is sometimes referred to asOur Lady of theSnows, a name given to it in the Roman Missal from1568 to 1969 in connection with the liturgical feast ofthe anniversary of its dedication on 5 August, a feast thatwas then denominatedDedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Nives(Dedication of Saint Mary of the Snows). This name forthe basilica had become popular in the 14th century[3] inconnection with a legend that the 1911 Catholic Encyclo-pedia reports thus: “During the pontificate of Liberius,the Roman patrician John and his wife, who were with-out heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to theVirgin Mary. They prayed that she might make knownto them how they were to dispose of their property in herhonour. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman sum-mer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Es-quiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Marywhich they had the same night, the couple built a basilicain honour of Mary on the very spot which was coveredwith snow. From the fact that no mention whatever ismade of this alleged miracle until a few hundred yearslater, not even by Sixtus III in his eight-line dedicatoryinscription ... it would seem that the legend has no his-torical basis.”[4]

The legend is first reported only after the year 1000.[5] Itmay be implied in what the Liber Pontificalis, of the early

13th century, says of Pope Liberius: “He built the basil-ica of his own name (i.e. the Liberian Basilica) near theMacellum of Livia".[6] Its prevalence in the 15th centuryis shown in the painting of the Miracle of the Snow byMasolino da Panicale.[7][Notes 3]

The Blessed VirginMary overlooking Pope Liberius as the Pontiffscraped the foundation of the basilica into the snow. By Italianartist Masolino da Panicale. circa 15th-century. Museo diCapodimonte.

The feast was originally called Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae(Dedication of Saint Mary’s),[4] and was celebrated onlyin Rome until inserted for the first time into the GeneralRoman Calendar, with ad Nives added to its name, in1568.[3] A congregation appointed by Pope Benedict XIV

1

2 3 HISTORY OF THE PRESENT CHURCH

in 1741 proposed that the reading of the legend be struckfrom the Office and that the feast be given its originalname.[4] No action was taken on the proposal until 1969,when the reading of the legend was removed and the feastwas called In dedicatione Basilicae S. Mariae (Dedicationof the Basilica of Saint Mary).[3] The legend is still com-memorated by dropping white rose petals from the domeduring the celebration of the Mass and Second Vespersof the feast.The earliest building on the site was the Liberian Basil-ica or Santa Maria Liberiana, after Pope Liberius(352-366). This namemay have originated from the samelegend, which recounts that, like John and his wife, PopeLiberius was told in a dream of the forthcoming summersnowfall, went in procession to where it did occur andthere marked out the area on which the church was to bebuilt.[8] Liberiana is still included in some versions of thebasilica’s formal name, and “Liberian Basilica” may beused as a contemporary as well as historical name.[9]

On the other hand, the name “Liberian Basilica” maybe independent of the legend, since, according to PiusParsch, Pope Liberius transformed a palace of theSicinini family into a church, which was for that reasoncalled the Sicinini Basilica. This building was then re-placed under Pope Sixtus III (432-440) by the presentstructure dedicated to Mary.[8] However, some sourcessay that the adaptation as a church of a pre-existing build-ing on the site of the present basilica was done in the420s under Pope Celestine I, the immediate predecessorof Sixtus III.[10]

Long before the earliest traces of the story of the mirac-ulous snow, the church now known as Saint Mary Ma-jor was called Saint Mary of the Crib (Sancta Mariaad Praesepe),[11] a name it was given because of its relicof the crib or manger of the Nativity of Jesus Christ,four boards of sycamore wood believed to have beenbrought to the church, together with a fifth, in the timeof Pope Theodore I (640-649).[12][13] This name appearsin the Tridentine editions of the Roman Missal as theplace for the pope’s Mass (the station Mass) on Christ-mas Night,[14] while the name “Mary Major” appears forthe church of the station Mass on Christmas Day.[15]

2 Status as major basilica

See also: Major basilica and minor basilicaNo Catholic church can be honoured with the title ofbasilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorialcustom.[16] Saint Mary Major is one of the only four thattoday hold the title of major basilica. The other threeare Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter and Saint Paul outsidethe Walls.[17] (The title of major basilica was once usedmore widely, being attached, for instance, to the basilicaof Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi.)[18] All the otherCatholic churches that, either by grant of the Pope or by

Map by Giacomo Lauro and Antonio Tempesta depicting SaintMaryMajor among the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome in 1599,in view of the Holy Year of 1600.

immemorial custom, hold the title of basilica are minorbasilicas.Until 2006, the four major basilicas, together withthe basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Wallswere referred to as the five “patriarchal basilicas” ofRome,[Notes 4] associated with the five ancient patriarchalsees of Christendom (see Pentarchy). Saint Mary Ma-jor was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch. Inthe same year, the title of “patriarchal” was also removedfrom the basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.The former five patriarchal basilicas with the Basilica ofthe Holy Cross in Jerusalem and San Sebastiano fuori lemura formed the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches ofRome, which are visited by pilgrims during their pilgrim-age to Rome following a 20 kilometres (12 mi) itineraryestablished by Saint Philip Neri on 25 February 1552,especially when seeking the plenary indulgence on HolyYears.[19][20][21] For the Great Jubilee of 2000, Pope JohnPaul II replaced Saint Sebastian’s church with the Shrineof Our Lady of Divine Love.

3 History of the present church

It is agreed that the present church was built under PopeSixtus III (432-440). The dedicatory inscription on thetriumphal arch, Sixtus Episcopus plebi Dei, (Sixtus thebishop to the people of God) is an indication of thatPope’s role in the construction.[22] As well as this churchon the summit of the Esquiline Hill, Pope Sixtus III issaid to have commissioned extensive building projectsthroughout the city, which were continued by his succes-sor Pope Leo I, the great.[23]

The church retains the core of its original structure, de-spite several additional construction projects and damageby the earthquake of 1348.Church building in Rome in this period, as exemplified

3

The Piazza and Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, by GiovanniPaolo Pannini

in Saint Mary Major, was inspired by the idea of Romebeing not just the centre of the world of the Roman Em-pire, as it was seen in the classical period, but the centreof the Christian world.[24]

Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the first churches built inhonour of the Virgin Mary, was erected in the immedi-ate aftermath of the Council of Ephesus of 431, whichproclaimed Mary Mother of God. Pope Sixtus III builtit to commemorate this decision.[25] Certainly, the atmo-sphere that generated the council gave rise also the mo-saics that adorn the interior of the dedication: “whateverthe precise connection was between council and churchit is clear that the planners of the decoration belong toa period of concentrated debates on nature and statusof the Virgin and incarnate Christ.”[26] The magnificentmosaics of the nave and triumphal arch, seen as “mile-stones in the depiction” of the Virgin,[27] depict scenes ofher life and that of Christ, but also scenes from the OldTestament: Moses striking the Red Sea, and Egyptiansdrowning in the Red Sea.Richard Krautheimer attributes the magnificence of thework also to the abundant revenue accruing to the papacyat the time from land holdings acquired by the Churchduring the 4th and 5th centuries on the Italian peninsula:“Some of these holdings were locally controlled; the ma-jority as early as the end of the 5th century were adminis-tered directly from Rome with great efficiency: a centralaccounting system was involved in the papal chancery;and a budget was apparently prepared, one part of the in-come going to the papal administration, another to theneeds of the clergy, a third to the maintenance of churchbuildings, a fourth to charity. These fines enabled the pa-pacy to carry out through the 5th century an ambitiousbuilding program, including Santa Maria Maggiore.”[28]

Miri Rubin believes that the building of the basilica wasinfluenced also by seeing Mary as a one who could rep-resent the imperial ideals of classical Rome, bringing to-gether the old Rome and the new Christian Rome: “InRome, the city ofmartyrs, if no longer of emperors, Marywas a figure that could credibly carry imperial memoriesand representations.”[29]

When the popes returned to Rome after the period of theAvignon papacy, the buildings of the basilica became atemporary Palace of the Popes due to the deterioratedstate of the Lateran Palace. The papal residence was latermoved to the Palace of the Vatican in what is nowVaticanCity.The basilica was restored, redecorated and extendedby various popes, including Eugene III (1145–1153),Nicholas IV (1288–92), Clement X (1670–76), andBenedict XIV (1740–58), who in the 1740s commis-sioned Ferdinando Fuga to build the present façade and tomodify the interior. The interior of the SantaMariaMag-giore underwent a broad renovation encompassing all ofits altars between the years 1575 and 1630.

4 Architecture

Piazza dell'Esquilino with the apse area of Santa Maria Mag-giore.

The original architecture of Santa Maria Maggiore wasclassical and traditionally Roman perhaps to convey theidea that Santa Maria Maggiore represented old impe-rial Rome as well as its Christian future. As one scholarputs it, “Santa Maria Maggiore so closely resembles asecond-century imperial basilica that it has sometimesbeen thought to have been adapted from a basilica for useas a Christian church. Its plan was based on Hellenisticprinciples stated by Vitruvius at the time of Augustus.”[30]

Even though Santa Maria Maggiore is immense in itsarea, it was built to plan. The design of the basilica wasa typical one during this time in Rome: “a tall and widenave; an aisle on either side; and a semicircular apse atthe end of the nave.”[24] The key aspect that made Santa

4 5 INTERIOR

Maria Maggiore such a significant cornerstone in churchbuilding during the early 5th century were the beautifulmosaics found on the triumphal arch and nave.The Athenian marble columns supporting the nave areeven older, and either come from the first basilica, orfrom another antique Roman building; thirty-six are mar-ble and four granite, pared down, or shortened to makethem identical by Ferdinando Fuga, who provided themwith identical gilt-bronze capitals.[31] The 14th centurycampanile, or bell tower, is the highest in Rome, at 240feet, (about 75 m.). The basilica’s 16th-century cofferedceiling, to a design by Giuliano da Sangallo, is said to begilded with gold, initially brought by Christopher Colum-bus, presented by Ferdinand and Isabella to the Spanishpope, Alexander VI.[32] The apse mosaic, the Coronationof the Virgin, is from 1295, signed by the Franciscanfriar, Jacopo Torriti. The Basilica also contains frescoesby Giovanni Baglione, in the Cappella Borghese.The 12th-century façade has been masked by a recon-struction, with a screening loggia, that were added byPope Benedict XIV in 1743, to designs by FerdinandoFuga that did not damage the mosaics of the façade. Thewing of the canonica (sacristy) to its left and a match-ing wing to the right (designed by Flaminio Ponzio) givethe basilica’s front the aspect of a palace facing the Pi-azza Santa Maria Maggiore. To the right of the Basilica’sfaçade is a memorial representing a column in the formof an up-ended cannon barrel topped with a cross: it waserected by Pope Clement VIII to celebrate the end of theFrench Wars of Religion.[33]

The Marian column erected in 1614, to designs of CarloMaderno is the model for numerous Marian columnserected in Catholic countries in thanksgiving for remis-sion of the plague during the Baroque era. (An exam-ple is the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, the CzechRepublic). The column itself is the sole remainderfrom Constantine’s Basilica of Maxentius and Constan-tine inCampoVaccinoRomeArt Lover website notes thatCampo Vaccino as what the Roman Forum was calleduntil the 18th century]. Maderno’s fountain at the basecombines the armorial eagles and dragons of Paul V.

5 Interior

5.1 Fifth century mosaics

The mosaics found in Santa Maria Maggiore are not justincredibly beautiful works of Late Antique art; they arealso one of the oldest representations of the Virgin Maryin Christian Late Antiquity. As one scholar puts it, “Thisis well demonstrated by the decoration of Santa MariaMaggiore in Rome,... where the iconographic depictionof the Virgin Mary was chosen at least in part to celebratethe affirmation of Mary as Theotokos (bearer of God) bythe third ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 CE.”[34]

Interior of the basilica

The mosaics of the triumphal arch and the nave in SantaMaria Maggiore were the definition of impressionistic artduring the time period and gave a model for the futurerepresentations of the Virgin Mary. The influences ofthese mosaics are rooted in late antique impressionismthat could be seen in frescoes, manuscript paintings andmany pavement mosaics across villas in Africa, Syria andSicily during the 5th century.[22]

These mosaics gave historians insight into artistic, re-ligious, and social movements during this time. Asone scholar explains that mosaics in Santa Maria Mag-giore had two goals: one to glorify the Virgin Mary asTheotokos, (God-Bearer); and the other as the scholarputs is “a systematic and comprehensive articulation ofthe relationship of the Hebrew Bible and the Christianscriptures as one in which the Hebrew Bible foreshadowsChristianity.”[35] This is explained by the dual images ofOld Testament and New Testament events depicted in themosaics of the triumphal arch and the nave. The mosaicsalso show the range of artistic expertise and refute the the-ory that mosaic technique during the time was based oncopying from model books. The mosaics found in SantaMaria Maggiore are combinations of different styles ofmosaic art during the time. As one scholar puts it “therange of artistic expertise and the actual complexities ofproduction can hardly be reduced to a mentality of copy-ing. A test case is given by the mosaics of S. Maria Mag-giore in Rome”.[26]

5.1.1 Triumphal arch

The triumphal arch at the head of the nave was at firstreferred to as the apse arch, but later became known asthe triumphal arch.[36] The triumphal arch is illustratedwith magnificent mosaics depicting different scenes ofChrist and the Virgin Mary. There was a difference inthe styles used in the triumphal arch mosaics comparedto those of the nave; the style of the triumphal arch wasmuch more linear and flat as one scholar describes it, not

5

Mosaic in the triumphal arch

nearly as much action, emotion and movement in them asthere were in the Old Testament mosaics of the nave.[26]One of the first scenes that were visible on the triumphalarch was a panel of Christ’s enthronement with a group ofangels as his court. As one historian describes it: “On theapse arch Christ is enthroned, a young emperor attendedby four chamberlains, angels of course”,[24] this is a per-fect example of mosaic art in the 5th century. Anotherpanel found on the triumphal arch is of the Virgin, sheis crowned and dressed in a colorful veil, her wardrobesubtly brings to mind that of a Roman empress and inthis panel she has her divine son walking with her and asuite of angles and Joseph ready to greet her; “The Vir-gin...shows to perfection the impressionistic character ofmosaics.”[37] Another panel is known as the Adoration ofthe Magi and this mosaic depicts Infant Christ and TheVirgin and the arrival of the three wise men, “mosaics il-lustrating Christ’s first coming and his youth covered thetriumphal arch.”[37] The other panel depicts the Virginaccompanied by five martyrs.[22]

5.1.2 Nave

The nave of the basilica was covered in mosaics repre-senting Old Testament events most vividly ofMoses lead-ing the Jews out of Egypt across the Red Sea. “Thenave mosaics (which represents stories of Old Testamenthistory and accordingly offered Christians in Rome anew 'past') are illusionistic in a colorful and impression-ist manner”[26] as this scholar puts it the scene was filledwith movement, emotion, and it was to inspire thinkingof Rome’s “new” past; the past of the Old Testament. Thedetail used in creating the scene was magnificent as onescholar describes it: “Moses strikes the waters of the RedSea in a heroic gesture, his toga in light and dark grays andblues, but lined in black, the folds white lines, the tunic

A nave mosaic from the story of Moses

underneath light blue; the man next to him wears a deepblue toga over a gray and white tunic.”[22] Another panelshows the demise of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Anobserver describes the mosaic: “The Egyptians, clad inblue armor with gold bands and scarlet cloaks wildly fly-ing, drown in the greenish blue waters; the horses, whiteor light brown shaded with darker browns, highlighted inwhite, the accoutrements a bright red.”[37]

6 Crypt of the Nativity and Cap-pella Sistina

Reliquary of the Holy Crib

Under the high altar of the basilica is the Crypt of theNativity or Bethlehem Crypt, with a crystal reliquary de-signed by Giuseppe Valadier said to contain wood fromthe Holy Crib of the nativity of Jesus Christ.[38] Here isthe burial place of Saint Jerome, the 4th-century Doctorof the Church who translated the Bible into the Latin lan-guage (the Vulgate).[39]

Fragments of the sculpture of the Nativity believed to beby 13th-century Arnolfo di Cambio were transferred to

6 8 PAPAL BASILICA

Altar of Sistine Chapel and Oratory of the Nativity

beneath the altar of the large Sistine Chapel [38] off theright transept of the church. This chapel of the BlessedSacrament is named after Pope Sixtus V, and is not to beconfused with the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, namedafter Pope Sixtus IV. The architect Domenico Fontanadesigned the chapel, which contains the tombs of SixtusV himself and of his early patron Pope Pius V. The mainaltar in the chapel has four gilded bronze angels by Se-bastiano Torregiani, holding up the ciborium, which is amodel of the chapel itself.Beneath this altar is the Oratory or Chapel of the Nativity,on whose altar, at that time situated in the Crypt of theNativity below the main altar of the church itself, SaintIgnatius of Loyola celebrated his first Mass as a priest on25 December 1538.Just outside the Sistine Chapel is the tomb of GianlorenzoBernini and his family.[39]

The Mannerist interior decoration of the Sistine Chapelwas completed (1587–1589) by a large team of artists,directed by Cesare Nebbia and Giovanni Guerra. Whilethe art biographer, Giovanni Baglione allocates specificworks to individual artists, recent scholarship finds thatthe hand of Nebbia drew preliminary sketches for many,if not all, of the frescoes. Baglione also concedes the rolesof Nebbia and Guerra could be summarized as “Nebbiadrew, and Guerra supervised the teams”.Others include Ferdinando Sermei, Giacomo Stella, Paul

Bril, and Ferraù Fenzoni.[40]

7 Borghese Chapel and Salus Pop-uli Romani

The Borghese Chapel

The column in the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore cele-brates the famous icon of the Virgin Mary now enshrinedin the Borghese Chapel of the Basilica. It is known asSalus Populi Romani, or Health of the Roman People orSalvation of the Roman People, due to a miracle in whichthe icon helped keep plague from the city. The icon isat least a thousand years old, and according to a traditionwas painted from life by St Luke the Evangelist using thewooden table of the Holy Family in Nazareth.The Salus Populi Romani has been a favourite of severalpopes and acted as a key Mariological symbol. Roman-born Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) celebrated his firstHoly Mass there on 1 April 1899. In 1953, the icon wascarried through Rome to initiate the first Marian year inChurch history. In 1954, the icon was crowned by PopePius XII as he introduced a new Marian feast Queenshipof Mary. Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Bene-dict XVI, and Pope Francis all honoured the Salus PopuliRomani with personal visits and liturgical celebrations.

8 Papal basilica

As a papal basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore is often usedby the pope. Most notably, the pope presides over theannual Feast of the Assumption of Mary, celebrated on15 August each year at the basilica. The canopied highaltar is used by the pope alone — except for a few priestsincluding the archpriest. Pope Francis began his first fullday as pontiff with a visit to the basilica on 14 March2013.

7

Salus Populi Romani, perhaps the oldest Marian image in Rome,Italy.

The pope gives charge of the basilica to an archpriest,usually an archbishop, who has been made a cardinal.Formerly, the archpriest was the titular Latin Patriarchof Antioch, a title abolished in 1964. Since 21 Novem-ber 2011, the current archpriest has been Santos Abril yCastelló.In addition to the archpriest and his assistant priests,a chapter of canons is resident. Redemptorist andDominican priests serve the church, hearing confessionsand celebrating the Eucharist and other sacraments suchas baptism and matrimony.The King of Spain, currently Felipe VI, is ex officioprotocanon of the basilica’s chapter.[41]

9 Archpriests of the Basilica diSanta Maria Maggiore since1127

List of archpriests of the Liberian Basilica since1127.[42][43][44][45][46] Initially not all archpriests werecardinals

10 List of major works of art in thebasilica

• Early Christian mosaic cycle depicting Old Testa-ment events, 5th century

• The Salus Populi Romani, a much venerated earlyicon of the Virgin and Child.

• Funerary monument of Clement IX (1671) by CarloRainaldi with the papal bust by Domenico Guidi.

• Temporary catafalque for Philip IV of Spain de-signed in 1665 by Rainaldi

• Funerary monument of Pope Nicholas IV, designedby Domenico Fontana in 1574.

• Bust of Costanzo Patrizi by Algardi.• Sacristy frescoes by Passignano and GiuseppePuglia,

• Saint Cajetan holding the Holy Child, by Bernini.• High altar sculpture by Pietro Bracci, (c. 1750).• Statue of Pius IX in prayer by Ignazio Jacometti, (c.1880).

• Pauline Chapel frescoes, by Guido Reni• Frescoes for the monument of Clement VIII,Lanfranco

• Cesi Chapel tombs by Guglielmo della Porta• Altar, confessio and Presepio (crib) sculptures byArnolfo di Cambio, about 1290

11 Burials in the church

Further information: List of papal tombs

• Gian Lorenzo Bernini• Pauline Bonaparte• Archbishop Domenico Caloyera O.P.• Pope Clement VIII• Pope Honorius III (no longer extant)• Pope Clement IX• Saint Jerome, relics• Pope Nicholas IV• Saint Pope Pius V• Cardinal Ugo Poletti• Pope Sixtus V• Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora

8 14 REFERENCES

12 See also• Properties of the Holy See• Roman Catholic Marian churches• Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major• Index of Vatican City-related articles

13 Notes[1] The basilica, which is owned by the Holy See (article 13

of the Lateran Treaty), “form(s) part of the territory ofthe Italian State (but) enjoy(s) the immunities granted byInternational Law to the headquarters of the diplomaticagents of foreign States” (article 15 of the Lateran Treaty).

[2] “Treaty between the Holy See and Italy”. Holy See. Ar-ticle 13: “Italy recognizes the full ownership of the HolySee over the patriarchal Basilicas of St. John Lateran, Sta.Maria Maggiore, and St. Paul, with their annexed build-ings. ...Article 15 The properties indicated in Article 13 hereof..., even if such edifices form part of the territory of theItalian State, will enjoy the immunities granted by Inter-national Law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agentsof foreign States.”

[3] This triptych painted around 1423 was commissioned forthe basilica by a member of the Colonna family; it is nowin the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (Paul Joannides,“The Colonna Triptych by Masolino and Masaccio,” ArteCristiana no 728 (1988:339-)). The miracle is depicted aswitnessed by a crowd of men and women, with Jesus andthe Virgin Mary observing from above.

[4] When Pope Benedict XVI abandoned the title "Patriarchof the West", Saint Mary Major changed its name fromPatriarchal to Papal Basilica, as in the heading of its offi-cial website, while the body of the articles on the site hasnot yet been revised to remove the term “patriarchal”.

[5] Archpriest Pietro Sasso is commonly identified with con-temporary cardinal Pietro Sasso of S. Pudenziana (1206–1218/19). However, this identification remains uncertainbecause the only document which mentions this archpriest(dated July 3, 1212) makes no reference to his cardinalate,cf. Ferri in ASRSP, vol. 28, p. 24

[6] Cardinal Pietro Capocci (died 1259) is mentioned in themajority of the catalogs of archpriests of Liberian Basil-ica but the documents from the archive of the Basilica,published by Ferri in ASRSP, vol. 27, p. 34–39 and vol.30, p. 119, give no support for this affirmation. Docu-ment dated March 19, 1244 mentions Astor (or Aston)as archpriest, documents between February 13, 1247 andOctober 1, 1255 mention archpriest without mentioninghis name but also without indicating his cardinalate, andon May 28, 1258 Romano was archpriest of the Basilica;the latest document mentions also cardinal Pietro Capoccibut makes no reference to his occupation of that post. Ifhe was really an archpriest under Innocent IV, he musthave later resigned, but it seems more likely that this state-ment resulted from a confusion.

14 ReferencesCitations

[1] “Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy Seein that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San PaoloFuori leMura”. Whc.unesco.org. Archived from the orig-inal on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.

[2] The actual official name seems to vary: The Holy See'spress office uses “Papal Liberian Basilica of St. Mary Ma-jor in Rome” in English in a 2011 note, while the officialVatican website for the church uses various formulas notincluding “Liberian” or Liberiana, some under a coat ofarms that includes “basilica Liberiana” in Italian.

[3] Calendarium Romanum 1969, p. 99

[4] Ott 1913, Our Lady of the Snow

[5] Dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica

[6] Loomis 1916, p. 77

[7] Miles 1993, p. 157

[8] Pius Parsch, The Church’s Year of Grace quoted inCatholic Culture: “Ordinary Time, 5 August”

[9] See for example the Holy See's press office using “PapalLiberian Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome” in Englishin a 2011 note, while the official Vatican website for thechurch uses various formulas, some under a coat of armsthat includes “basilica Liberiana” in Italian.

[10] Rubin 2009, p. 95

[11] Encyclical Slavorum Apostoli, 5

[12] Stephen M. Donovan, “Crib” in Catholic Encyclopedia1908

[13] Joan Carroll Cruz, Relics (Our Sunday Visitor 1984 ISBN978-0-87973-701-6), p. 22

[14] Missale Romanum, 1962 edition, p. 17

[15] Missale Romanum, 1962 edition, p. 20

[16] Robert F. McNamara,Minor Basilicas in the United States

[17] Basilicas

[18] John Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary 1980

[19] La Visita alle Sette Chiese

[20] Panvinio, Onofrio (1570). Le sette chiese romane. Rome.Retrieved 12 August 2011.

[21] Sacchi, Guido. “La visita alle Sette Chiese: cenni storici”(in Italian). Retrieved 12 August 2011.

[22] Krautheimer 1980, p. 49

[23] Krautheimer 1980, p. 52

[24] Krautheimer 1980, p. 46

[25] Vassilaki 2000, p. 10

9

[26] Cormack 2000, p. 889

[27] Vassilaki 2000, p. 132

[28] Krautheimer 1980, pp. 69–70

[29] Rubin 2009, pp. 95–96

[30] Miles 1993, p. 158

[31] Beny & Gunn 1981, p. 106

[32] Charles A. Coulombe, Vicars of Christ, p. 330.

[33] Basilica memorial to celebrate the end of the FrenchWarsof Religion; accessed 22 March 2014.

[34] Gwynn 2010, p. 235

[35] Miles 1993, p. 160

[36] Krautheimer 1980, p. 47

[37] Krautheimer 1980, p. 48

[38] Inside the Basilica

[39] Sacred Destinations: SantaMariaMaggiore, Rome

[40] Eitel-Porter 1997, pp. 452–462

[41] Liberian Chapter

[42] Moroni 1840, pp. 127–135

[43] Respective biographical entries on Essay of a General Listof Cardinals by Salvador Miranda

[44] Ferri 1904, p. 147–202 and 441–459

[45] Ferri 1905, pp. 23–39

[46] Ferri 1907, pp. 119–168

Bibliography

• Holy See (1969). Calendarium Romanum: ex de-creto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II in-stauratum. Vatican State: Typis Polyglottis Vatica-nis.

• Beny, Roloff; Gunn, Peter (1981). The churches ofRome. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-43447-2.

• Cormack, Robin (2000). “Chapter 30: The VisualArts”. In Cameron, Averil; Ward-Perkins, Bryan;Whitby, Michael. The Cambridge ancient history.empire and successors, AD 425-600 XIV. Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-32591-2.

• Eitel-Porter, Rhoda (1997). “Artistic Co-Operationin Late Sixteenth-Century Rome: Sistine Chapelin S. Maria Maggiore and the Scala Santa”. TheBurlington Magazine 139 (1139): 452–462. JSTOR887503.

• Ferri, G. (1904). Le carte dell'Archivio Liberianodal secolo X al XV. Archivio della Societa Romanadi Storia Patria (in Italian) 27.

• Ferri, G. (1905). Le carte dell'Archivio Liberianodal secolo X al XV (continua). Archivio della Soci-eta Romana di Storia Patria (in Italian) 28.

• Ferri, G. (1907). Le carte dell'Archivio Liberianodal secolo X al XV (continuazione e fine). Archiviodella Societa Romana di Storia Patria (in Italian) 30.

• Gwynn, David M.; Bangert, Susanne (2010). Reli-gious diversity in late antiquity. Leiden: Brill. ISBN978-90-04-18000-0.

• Krautheimer, Richard (1980). Rome : profile of acity, 312-1308. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-sity Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00319-1.

• Loomis, Louise Ropes (1916). The Book of Popes(Liber Pontificalis). New York: Columbia Univer-sity Press. OCLC 1941708.

• Miles, Margaret R. (1993). “Santa MariaMaggiore’s Fifth-Century Mosaics: Tri-umphal Christianity and the Jews”. Har-vard Theological Review 86 (2): 155–172.doi:10.1017/S001781600003114X. The fifth-century mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore in Romerepresent the oldest surviving program of mosaicdecoration in a Christian church.

• Moroni, Gaetano (1840). “Notizie sul capitoloed arcipreti della basilica di s. Maria Maggiore”.Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S.Pietro sino ai nostri giorni (in Italian) 12. TipografiaEmiliana. pp. 127–135. Retrieved 4 August 2011.

• Ott, Michael (1913). "Our Lady of the Snow".Catholic Encyclopedia. NewYork: Robert AppletonCompany. Retrieved 2008-12-17.

• Rubin, Miri (2009). Mother of God : a history ofthe Virgin Mary. NewHaven: Yale University Press.ISBN 978-0-300-10500-1.

• Vassilaki, Maria (2000). The mother of God : rep-resentations of the Virgin in Byzantine art. Milano:Skira. ISBN 88-8118-738-8.

• Warland, Rainer (2003). “The Concept of Rome inLate Antiquity reflected in the mosaics of the Tri-umphal Arch of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome”. Actaad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia 17:127–141. ISSN 0333-1512. Retrieved 4 August2011.

15 External links• A video on the early building history of the church.

10 15 EXTERNAL LINKS

• A look at the restoration

• Devotion to Our Lady of the Snows from theNational Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows websiteof The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

• Eternal Word Television Network, Global CatholicNetwork (EWTN) Profile of Basilica di SantaMariaMaggiore.

• Images and Links Further Information on Basilicadi Santa Maria Maggiore

• Kunsthistorie.com gallery

• Roberto Piperno, “S. Maria Maggiore”

• Satellite Photo of St. Mary’s Major Basilica

• The Papal Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore (websiteof the Holy See)

11

16 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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