Dedication of Saint Mary Major

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The Dedication of Saint Mary Major is liturgical feast day celebrated on August 5 on the Roman Catholic calendar of saints with the rank of optional memorial. Prior to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the feast was known as Our Lady of the Snows. This is the feast that commemorates the dedication of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, a major basilica located on the Esquiline Hill in the city of Rome. This feast is still named ""Our Lady of the Snows" by those Priestly Fraternities and Institutes that are in communion with the Bishop of Rome and are authorised to use the Missal of 1962, the last edition of the Mass of Pope Pius V.

The church was originally built during the pontificate of Pope Liberius, and was called after him "Basilica Liberii" or "Liberiana". Restored by Pope Sixtus III, and dedicated to "Our Lady". From that time on it was known as Basilica Sancta Mariæ Majoris (Latin).

The appellation "Our Lady of the snows" originated with the events which gave this name to the church. During the pontificate of Liberius, it is remembered that the Roman patrician John and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary. They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour. On 5 August, during the night, snow fell on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary which they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honour of Mary on the spot which was covered with snow.

Originally the feast was celebrated only at Saint Mary Major. In the 14th century it was extended to all the churches of Rome, and finally it was made a universal feast by Pope Pius V.