National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows

The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is a Catholic shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Belleville, Illinois, nine miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. The Shrine's director is the Reverend Father Tom Ovalle, OMI. The shrine is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville, but is not part of that diocese; rather, it is beholden to the United States Province of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The Shrine name refers to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, where legend says snow fell in the summertime.