Lessons from the Archive: Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

First Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
Second Reading: St. Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17
Gospel: According to St. John 2:13-22

As we approach the conclusion of the liturgical calendar we celebrate a second unusual feast in a row. Last Sunday was All Souls Day and today is the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. These two feasts are seldom given much attention because they usually occur on a day other than Sunday, but when they do land on a Sunday - as they do this year - they are important enough to take the place of whatever Sunday in Ordinary Time that falls on the same day.

Today’s feast, that of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, focuses our attention on a building that is, in a sense, the most important building in all of Christendom.

When people have an image in their head of what structure best represents the Catholic Church they most often are thinking of St. Peter’s Basilica, and rightfully so. St. Peter’s is the focal point of all things Catholic - from the canonization of saints to the installation of popes. Built upon the site of the original St. Peter’s, which had been constructed under the orders of Constantine in the early decades of the 4th Century AD, the new St. Peter’s is the largest Christian church in the world. The bones of St. Peter, the first pope, are in a tomb under the high altar, and around half of all popes have been buried there.

Yet, this is not deemed to be the official “mother church” of the Catholic Faith. That honor is held by the Lateran Basilica, a structure that is across the Tiber River, outside the borders of the Vatican, 5 kilometers to the east. It, like the Vatican, is “in” but not “of” Rome because of its extraterritorial status granted by the Lateran Treaty of 1920. This “Archbasilica,” the only such basilica in the world, is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, and is thus the “home” church of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome.

Next to the entrance to the Lateran is carved the inscription: SACROS LATERAN ECCLES OMNIUM URBIS ET ORBIS ECCLESIARUM MATER ET CAPUT - “The Most Holy Lateran Church, Mother and Head of all Churches in the City and the World.” Above the inscription is the papal tiara and crossed keys and both the inscription and the image are encircled in a laurel wreath.

The celebration of this feast is a reminder of the symbolism attached to such a building. As stated above, this is the church of “the City [Rome] and the World,” and as such is a symbol of the catholic or worldwide nature of the Church as well as the necessary link with Rome that goes all the way back to St. Peter, the first Pope. The original, and shorter, name for the church - the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior - indicates the primacy of devotion to Christ above any veneration given to the saints. Despite later associations with St. John  the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist (thus the St. John Lateran title), the titular feast day for the basilica is still August 9th, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ.

Finally, even the name “Lateran” can take on symbolic meaning, especially for us ordinary, everyday Catholics. The Lateran Palace and Basilica originally belonged to the family of Sextius Lateranus, the first plebeian to attain the rank of consul in the Roman Empire. Fitting then is the fact that his home and place of worship are the focal point of the entire Church of Christ, the Church of the Savior who came not for emperors, but for commoners.

A.M.D.G.