Pope Francis invokes Mary for the peace that comes from Christ

By Christopher Wells

Every year, on the feast of its dedication, Santa Maria Maggiore becomes the scene of an impressive ceremony, as thousands of white flower petals fall from the gilded ceiling, symbolizing the miraculous August snowfall that led to the founding of the papal basilica.

An ancient tradition relates that on the evening of August 4-5, 358, the Blessed Virgin appeared to the reigning Pope Liberius and a devout Roman couple, requesting that a church be built on the site that would see a miraculous snowfall at the height of the Roman summer. The next morning, the outline of the basilica was clearly visible in the freshly fallen snow.

This year, Pope Francis himself traveled to Santa Maria Maggiore to participate in the liturgical celebration of Second Vespers for the feast of the Dedication of the Church.

The miracle of snow

A symbol of grace

In his homily, the Holy Father highlighted the “wonder” and “amazement” caused by this miraculous snowfall, which he called a symbol of grace for its beauty and gratuitousness. “Grace cannot be deserved, much less bought; it can only be received as a gift. It is therefore totally unpredictable, like a snowfall in the middle of summer in Rome.”

With this attitude, he continued, it is possible to appreciate the most important “sign” linked to the Basilica, namely the Icon of Mary, “Hello Roman Peoplethe salvation of the Roman people.

In this icon, he said, the image of the Virgin Mary and Child reveals grace “in its materiality, stripped of all mythological, magical and spiritualistic clothing that always hides in the religious sphere.” Here, the Pope continued, we see only the essential, the Woman and the Son: Mary chosen before all centuries, immaculate as freshly fallen snow; and her Child, in whom “alone dwells all the fullness of divinity.”

Invocation of the Holy Virgin Mary

This is why, the Pope explained, “the faithful come to ask the blessing of the Holy Mother of God, because she is the mediator of grace that always and only flows through Jesus Christ, by the action of the Holy Spirit.”

Pope Francis stressed that the pilgrims present at Monday’s feast constituted a sort of “vanguard” ahead of the many pilgrims who will come to Rome for the Holy Year of the Jubilee, invoking Mary’s intercession for Rome and for the whole world. In a particular way, the pilgrims invoke Mary to intercede for the gift of true peace, which can only come from “repentant and forgiven hearts, the peace that comes from the Cross of Christ and from his Blood, which he took from Mary and shed for the remission of sins.”

File photo: Pope Francis prays in front of the image of Mary, Salus Populi Romani, December 8, 2023

“Holy Mother of God, pray for us”

Pope Francis concluded his homily by addressing the Virgin Mary with the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria: “Hail Mary, Virgin Mother of God, bearer of light, incorruptible vessel. Hail, O Virgin Mary, Mother and handmaid; Virgin, for Him who was born of you; Mother, for Him whom you carried in your arms… Hail, Mary, you are the most precious creature in the whole world… inextinguishable lamp; for from you was born the sun of justice. Holy Mother of God, pray for us.”