Catholic Fire

An affluent, aristocratic family witnessed an astonishing miracle during the 4th century.  John and his wife were childless and prayed to the Blessed Mother for a child with whom they could share their love.  They made a vow to donate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady appeared to them in a dream on the night of August 4th into August 5th and told them to build a church in her honor on the Esquiline hill. She explained that the exact location of where they were to build would be marked out in snow.  This would be their sign that the request was truly from her. Incredibly, during that sultry summer night, a snowfall outlined the shape of the basilica on the hill. That night, the Blessed Mother also appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream so that he, too, could witness and confirm the miracle. The next morning, Roman citizens gathered on the hill to see the uncommon occurrence of snow sparkling in the summer sun. When John and his wife woke up, they...

Immediately following his election to the papacy, Pope Francis said that his first visit would be to pray before the Virgin Mary. POPE FRANCIS March 13, 2013 "Tomorrow I want to go to pray before Our Lady so that she may protect all of Rome.” Since then, Francis has shown his devotion to the Blessed Mother in this same site, in front of the 'Salus Populi Romani' icon, which means 'the salvation of the Roman people.' In May, he returned to the shrine to pray the Rosary. He has also entrusted all of his visits to the patroness of Rome. He visited Saint Mary Major before traveling to Brazil for World Youth Day. Upon his return, he stopped at the basilica on his way back to the Vatican, leaving a soccer ball and shirt on the altar, souvenirs from Rio de Janeiro. He repeated the same gesture before and after his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He made other solemn visits during the procession of Corpus Christi, where he blessed the faithful in the church squar...

An affluent, aristocratic family witnessed an astonishing miracle during the 4th century.  John and his wife were childless and prayed to the Blessed Mother for a child with whom they could share their love.  They made a vow to donate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Our Lady appeared to them in a dream on the night of August 4th into August 5th and told them to build a church in her honor on the Esquiline hill. She explained that the exact location of where they were to build would be marked out in snow.  This would be their sign that the request was truly from her. Incredibly, during that sultry summer night, a snowfall outlined the shape of the basilica on the hill. That night, the Blessed Mother also appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream so that he, too, could witness and confirm the miracle. The next morning, Roman citizens gathered on the hill to see the uncommon occurrence of snow sparkling in the summer sun. When John and his wife woke up, th...

Today is the feast of the Dedication of St. Mary Major , one of the four most illustrious churches of Rome.When I visited it in 2006, I was totally in awe of its majesty. The above photo does not do it justice. You can take a virtual tour of St. Mary Major by clicking here . The Basilica of Saint Mary Major, erected around the year 352, during the reign of Pope Liberius. (352-366 ) According to tradition, a member of an aristocratic family, John and his wife, were childless and prayed that the Blessed Mother might designate an heir to bequeath their wealth. They were favored with a dream in which Our Lady appeared to them on the night of August 4-5. She requested that they build a church in her honor on the Esquiline hill and the sign to accompany this dream is that the exact location would be marked out in snow. Amazingly, during that hot summer evening, a snowfall traced the form of the basilica on the hill. Our Lady also appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream that same night so...