Author Claudia Cangilla McAdam joins the Catholic Morning Show to explain why August holds three major Marian feasts in just seventeen days — the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Assumption, and the Queenship of Mary. She traces the legendary fourth-century miracle of a summer snowfall in Rome that led to the building of St. Mary Major, and shares how her new children's chapter book brings that story to young readers. It's a rich, family-friendly dive into Marian devotion for the height of summer.
Three Feasts, Seventeen Days Claudia Cangilla McAdam breaks down August's "mini Marian season": the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Aug. 5), the Assumption of Mary (Aug. 15), and the Queenship of Mary (Aug. 22).
The Legend Behind St. Mary Major McAdam recounts the fourth-century story of a wealthy Roman couple who prayed to Mary for guidance and were told, in a vision, to build a church where snow would miraculously fall — which it reportedly did on Rome's Esquiline Hill in the heat of August, 358 A.D.
A New Children's Book McAdam's chapter book, The Miracle of the August Snow, retells the legend for young readers through the story of two feuding twin brothers who reconcile to help mark the miraculous snowfall. The book is available at 50% off through August via OSV Catholic Bookstore.
Why Mary Is Called Queen McAdam explains the biblical roots of Mary's queenship, drawing on the Davidic "Queen Mother" tradition from 1 and 2 Kings.
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