PilgrimstaysThe Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore — St Mary Major — is the greatest Marian basilica in Rome and one of the four major basilicas of the Eternal City, alongside St Peter's, St John Lateran, and St Paul Outside the Walls. It is the oldest church in the Western world dedicated to the Virgin Mary, founded according to tradition in 352 AD following a miraculous apparition of the Virgin to Pope Liberius, with a summer snowfall on the Esquiline Hill marking the site. The feast of the Dedication — August 5 — is celebrated each year by the scattering of white rose petals from the ceiling through an opening, representing the miraculous snow. The basilica contains the most important Marian relic in Rome: the Culla di Gesù — the relics of the manger of Bethlehem, preserved in a crystal reliquary in a crypt below the high altar. The 5th-century nave mosaics depicting scenes from the Old Testament and the life of Christ are among the earliest surviving Christian narrative mosaics in the world, and the gold-gilded ceiling of the nave, made from the first gold brought from the Americas by Columbus (gifted by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to Pope Alexander VI), is extraordinary. In 2025, Pope Francis was buried in this basilica — his wish, announced years before his death. His grave before the Salus Populi Romani icon — his favourite Marian image — makes Santa Maria Maggiore a site of even greater pilgrimage interest for the coming years.
The greatest Marian basilica in Rome — dedicated to Our Lady since 352 AD Contains relics of the manger of Bethlehem in a crystal reliquary beneath the high altar
The nave ceiling is gilded with the first gold brought from the Americas by Columbus The 5th-century mosaics are among the earliest surviving Christian narrative mosaics in the world
Pope Francis was buried here in 2025, before the Salus Populi Romani icon
Above the nave colonnade The 40 mosaic panels running the length of both sides of the nave, dating from 432-440 AD, depict scenes from the life of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Joshua. These are among the oldest surviving Christian narrative mosaics in the world, made within decades of the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) which declared Mary Theotokos — Mother of God.
Above the nave The gilded coffered ceiling of the nave, added in the 16th century, was the gift of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to Pope Alexander VI Borgia, and was made with the first gold brought from the Americas. The gold that came from the New World was dedicated, in the first instance, to the Mother of God. The irony is complex and the gold is real.
Protectress of the Roman People — is one of the most venerated images in Rome. Pope Francis visited it before and after every journey abroad, returning to pray before it on his return to Rome. His grave is immediately adjacent.
before the icon of Salus Populi Romani, which he loved above all others. His grave is simple. The pilgrims who come to pray before it are already numerous and increasing.
Pope Francis chose to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore because he loved the Salus Populi Romani icon. He stopped before her coming and going, year after year. The greatest theologian, the most powerful man in Catholic Christendom, and he came to a church to stand before a painted image and say: I am going to Japan / I have come back from Japan. This is what the Marian tradition is for: to give the powerful a place to bow.
The Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore — St Mary Major — is the greatest Marian basilica in Rome and one of the four major basilicas of the Eternal City, alongside St Peter’s, St John Lateran, and St Paul Outside the Walls. It is the oldest church in the Western world dedicated to the Virgin Mary, founded according to tradition in 352 AD following a miraculous apparition of the Virgin to Pope Liberius, with a summer snowfall on the Esquiline Hill marking the site. The feast of the Dedication — August 5 — is celebrated each year by the scattering of white rose petals from the ceiling through an opening, representing the miraculous snow.
The basilica contains the most important Marian relic in Rome: the Culla di Gesù — the relics of the manger of Bethlehem, preserved in a crystal reliquary in a crypt below the high altar. The 5th-century nave mosaics depicting scenes from the Old Testament and the life of Christ are among the earliest surviving Christian narrative mosaics in the world, and the gold-gilded ceiling of the nave, made from the first gold brought from the Americas by Columbus (gifted by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to Pope Alexander VI), is extraordinary.
In 2025, Pope Francis was buried in this basilica — his wish, announced years before his death. His grave before the Salus Populi Romani icon — his favourite Marian image — makes Santa Maria Maggiore a site of even greater pilgrimage interest for the coming years.
