Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major

For other uses, see Saint Mary of the Snow (disambiguation).
The Miracle of the Snow by Masolino da Panicale. Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary look on Pope Liberius, who uses a hoe to mark the basilica's outline following the shape of the legendary snowfall.

The Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major[1] (In Dedicatione basilicae S. Mariae)[2] is a feast day in the General Roman Calendar of the Catholic Church, optionally celebrated annually on 5 August with the rank of memorial.

In earlier editions of the General Roman Calendar, down to that of 1960, it is called the Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary of the Snows (In Dedicatione basilicae S. Mariae ad Nives),[3] a reference to the legendary story about the foundation of the basilica. For the same reason the feast is also known popularly as Our Lady of the Snows.[4] The reference to the legend was removed in the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar.[5]

  1. ^ Roman Missal, official English translation
  2. ^ Missale Romanum, 2002, p. 112, 799
  3. ^ "Missale Romanum, 1962, pp. L, 613". Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
  4. ^ "Shrine History", National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
  5. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 133