According to tradition, the Virgin Mary, appeared in a dream to a nobleman called John and Pope Liberius, asking for the construction of a site dedicated to her. The place where she wanted a church to be built was to be indicated by a miraculous event. And so it was that on August 5, 358, Rome’s Esquiline Hill was covered in snow.
The Pope gave impetus to the construction of the church with funding from the layman John. But no trace of this first building remains today. The current basilica dates back to the 5th century AD, when, during the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, the Virgin Mary was proclaimed ‘Theotòkos’ (Mother of God) and Pope Sixtus III allocated funding for its construction.
It was here, in this church, which is now seen as a real focal point for the Slovenian community in Rome, that on Christmas 867 the two brothers Cyril and Methodius were welcomed by Pope Adrian II. During that meeting the pontiff solemnly approved the use of liturgical books in their own Slavic language.
The two brothers are still celebrated in Slovenia as apostles, because their journey to Rome led to a real growth of Christianity among the Slovenians.