build a church in her honor. Her instructions were simple: Erect the church where a blanket of snow would cover the ground.

On August 5th, the morning light revealed a miraculous snowfall on Esquiline Hill in Rome. The couple recognized the miracle and obediently built a basilica to honor Our Lady. The famous Basilica of St. Mary Major was the first church to be built in honor of Mary and remains today as a place of tribute to Our Lady of the Snows. The devotion under the title “Our Lady of the Snows” was the first devotion to Mary as Mother of God.

The devotion of Our Lady was brought to North America in 1941 by an Oblate named Fr. Paul Schulte, O.M.I. Lovingly nicknamed “the flying priest of the arctic,” Fr. Schulte was a German commercial pilot who developed a strong personal devotion to Our Lady of the Snows. He often flew medical aid and other supplies to remote Oblate missions north of the Arctic Circle, where he built a small chapel in her honor.

Later, Fr. Schulte began working with Fr. Edwin J. Guild, O.M.I., at St. Henry’s Seminary in Belleville, Illinois. Today the Oblates call upon Mary as one who watches over their missionary efforts with a mother’s love. Because of Fr. Guild’s love for the Blessed Mother, the seminarians began to foster a special devotion to Our Lady of the Snows.

In 1943, this devotion led the Oblates to begin a novena to Our Lady, holding the nine-day prayer service inside the Chapel of St. Henry’s in Belleville. As the number of pilgrims began to rise, the novena was moved outdoors. The first Solemn Outdoor Novena was held in 1951 at St. Henry’s Seminary, marking the beginning of an annual event which attracts thousands of devoted followers each year.