The Altar of Our Lady of the Column is an image of the Blessed Virgin that had been painted on a column of porta santa marble, which was part of the central nave of the Old Basilica.

After Vatican II, Paul VI honored it with title of "Mater Ecclesiae", and in 1981, Pope John Paul II had a mosaic reproduction of it affixed to the external wall of the Apostolic Palace, in thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary after the assassination attempt.

This mosaic has been commissioned again and will adorn the bell tower of our new church. Some of these pictures were taken in March, during a recent trip to Rome to meet with the artisan, Enzo Aiello. 

Mater_Ecclesiae