The decision by Pope Francis to break with tradition and be buried at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome rather than the Vatican is shining a spotlight on the 5th-century basilica dedicated ...

On the night of his election on March 13, 2013, Pope Francis told the assembled faithful from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica that “tomorrow I wish to go and pray to the Madonna.” And so he did, ...

Each year on Aug. 5 the church liturgical calendar commemorates the dedication of St. Mary Major (in Italian, Santa Maria Maggiore), one of the five great ancient basilicas in Rome, and ...