About Us

St. Mary of the Snows Anglican Church has roots in Eagle River dating to 1898 but that still makes us relatively young in the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion dates to the 16th century and is made up of over 77 million believers around the world, with the largest concentrations in African nations like Nigeria and Kenya.

Our name comes from a tradition that is older still. In the year 352 a devout Roman Christian patrician named John and his wife were childless, and they prayed to the Blessed Virgin, asking that she designate an heir to whom they might bequeath their wealth.

On the night of August 4-5, they had a dream in which Our Lady appeared to them and asked them to build a church in her honor at a place she would show them.

The next morning (August 5) Rome awoke to find that, in the midst of a warm summer, the top of the Equiline Hill was covered with a strange pattern of snow. John and his wife heard about the unusual occurrence, and Pope Liberius (who had only been Pope for three months) was also informed. The three arrived at the Equiline Hill among the crowds, and the Pope noticed that the snow lay somewhat in the shape of a cross. John was certain that this was the promised sign and the people immediately marked off the snow-covered area before the snow melted.

Directly on that snowy area, a basilica was built over a period of two years. Because it was consecrated by Liberius, it was originally called "Basilica Liberiana", but eventually came to be known as "Santa Maria ad Nives" (Saint Mary of the Snows).

After the Council of Ephesus in 432, Pope Sixtus III (432-440) rebuilt the church and the present facade was added by Pope Eugene III (1145-1153).

It is now one of the most venerable basilicas in Rome, generally known as "Santa Maria Maggiore" (Saint Mary Major) since it was the first church dedicated to Our Lady in Rome.

Among the treasures of the church is an icon of the Blessed Virgin, said to have been painted by Saint Luke and originally given to the Pope by St. Helena. The picture had been in the Pope’s private chapel, but Liberius donated it to the new basilica. The icon came to be called "Salus Populi Romani" (The Saving of the People of Rome) because in the pontificate of Gregory the Great (590-604) during a devastating plague in Rome, the Pope carried the icon in procession throughout the city and the plague ceased. Again in 1837, Pope Gregory XVI (1830-1846) carried the icon in procession during an epidemic of cholera. When the epidemic ended, the Pope had crowns of gold and jewels added to the heads of Mary and the child Jesus in the icon. A copy of this icon is located in the narthex (foyer) at St. Mary’s Eagle River. Pope Paul V (1605-1621) had a special chapel built in the basilica to house the icon.For many centuries, the feast of Saint Mary of the Snows on August 5 was celebrated in the basilica by a showering of white confetti from the roof of the basilica during the celebratory Mass.

St. Mary’s moved into its present building in 1960. We are here to stand for the authority of scripture, and to take the Gospel of Jesus to this beautiful Northwoods country through outreach to the hurting, evangelism to the lost, and by being a community of disciples who make disciples. We take our mission seriously, and our membership is very active as we strive to grow, learn, and begin new works. Of course, this kind of effort is joyous, contagious, and can only be accomplished through the renewing of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We have been given the opportunity to make a real difference in this land through the reconciliation of our neighbors and friends with God through his Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. We invite you to walk and worship with us.