The Lateran Basilica

 I am going to take a little detour from my Saint posts today - just a little one. Today we are going to hear about a place rather than a person. But isn't it people who make a place special? And I promise you, there are more than enough saints in this tale.

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica - also known as St. John Lateran. In truth, it is an Archbasilica - the only Archbasilica in the world. In this context "arch" means "chief" as in Archdiocese or archangel. The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran (to give it its full title) is known as the Mother Church and head of all Churches in Rome and in the World. It is the Catholic Cathedral of Rome and serves as the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.

The Basilica was founded in 324 and dedicated on this date, November 9, in that year by Pope Sylvester I. This makes today its 1700th birthday! The name "Lateran" takes its name from the Laterani family who owned the land in the early part of the 4th century. One of the Laterani family was accused of conspiring against the emperor. The land was confiscated from them and given to the Bishop of Rome in order to build the basilica. When I visited the basilica last month we were shown where workers who were repairing/replacing cobblestones in front of the church had come upon remnants of the original Laterani palace. That short-term repair job has now become a long-term archeological dig.

Throughout the centuries, St. John Lateran has survived several fires and an earthquake in 897. It has been reconstructed on several occasions, yet still maintains its original form. The basilica was rebuilt in the late 16th century and the interior was renovated in the late 17th. The twelve niches created in this renovation were left vacant for decades. In 1702, Pope Clement XI and Benedetto Cardinal Pamphili, archpriest of the basilica, announced their intention to fill the niches with larger-than-life sculptures of the Apostles (Judas Iscariot replaced by St. Paul). 

Although located approximately 2 1/2 miles outside of Vatican City proper, the archbasilica has extraterritorial status from Italy and is property of the Holy See. 

In the Office of Readings on this Feast Day, we read from a sermon by Saint Caesarius of Arles, bishop, about why we celebrate this place with a special day: Christians rightly commemorate this feast of the church, their mother, for they know that through her they were reborn in the spirit.  . . . Whenever we come to church, we must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we expect this church to be. . .. Just as you enter this church building, so God wishes to enter into your soul.