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Why a feast of St John Lateran in Rome?

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In the city of Rome, there are four major basilicas. The first three are Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The fourth is the “Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran”, also called Saint John Lateran for short. Of the four major basilicas, the oldest and most important is Saint John Lateran, the dedication of which is remembered today. Though the pope now lives next to Saint Peter’s Basilica, Saint John Lateran is the official cathedral of Rome. That means Saint John Lateran is not only the mother church of the Archdiocese of Rome but also the mother church of the entire world.

The church building has a long history. In 65AD, there was a conspiracy to kill Nero with the help of the Counsel-designate Plautius Lateranus (Lateran). When Nero learned of the plot, he immediately beheaded Lateranus and confiscated his home. Subsequent Roman emperors used the residnce in various ways over the next 250 years, such as a military fort. In 312, when Constantine the Great became Roman Emperor, he took possession of the Lateran Palace. The following year, he donated it to Pope Miltiades who began constructing the first Basilica in Rome.

Upon its completion in the year 324, it was given a special designation to Christ the Saviour, and wth that, the first cathedral in the most important diocese was established. Constantine saw to it that the Lateran Basilica was beautifully decorated with gold and silver. Now, Rome had its first cathedral in the heart of the city.

Though the basilica was first dedicated to Christ the Savior, in the tenth century Pope Sergius III added a new baptistry and rededicated the basilica to Saint John the Baptist. In the twelfth century, Pope Lucius II dedicated the basilica to Saint John the Evangelist. The basilica, therefore, honours Christ the Savior first and the two Saint Johns as the co-patrons.

The Lateran Palace, next to the Basilica, was the papal residence from 324–1305. When Gregory XI returned to Rome from Avignon in 1377, the Palace was in disrepair due to two fires, so the pope eventually built a new home next to Saint Peter’s on Vatican Hill, where every subsequent pope has resided until today. Pray for the pope in a particular way today, that Saint John Lateran will always be a place where he, and every pope after him, will encounter God in a profound way.

Acknowlegements to My Catholic Life at mycatholic.life

A seat for the Bishop

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Today we celebrate an unusual feast – the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The Lateran Basilica, better known as St John Lateran, is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, better known as the Pope. So the feast is really one of the Pope, of the unity and catholicity of the Church gathered around our bishops who, in turn, gather around the Pope. But what is a cathedral?

It surprises visitors to Rome to discover that the great St Peter’s in the Vatican is not a cathedral. That is because many people have the mistaken idea that a cathedral is simply a big church. In fact, it takes its name from cathedra, a Latin word for a seat from the Greek kathedra. At his installation each bishop is seated on a special chair that becomes a symbol of his leadership and service to the Church. The chair is often decorated or on a rather grander scale than your usual sort of chair! So the cathedra gives its name to the building where it is located. So, on the whole, there is just one cathedral church in each bishop’s diocese or area. So, as Bishop of Rome, the Pope’s cathedral is St John Lateran.

Our archbishop has his cathedra in St David’s cathedral in Charles Street. That’s just behind Marks and Sparks for those who have never visited! Make a visit and you will see a grand oak chair located just to the right of the main altar. The use of this is reserved to the Archbishop, and so priests celebrating Mass use another, smaller one. You will see him on it at the Chrism Mass and other occasions when he presides there.

St John Lateran dates way back to the fourth century, but St David’s only to the 1880’s, and it became a cathedral in the early twentieth century. Naturally, the history of the Church in South Wales goes back much further than that – to the mists of the Celtic age, and for nigh on a thousand years the cathedral of the Bishop in our area was at Llandaff, where it still stands. It’s being looked after by our Anglican friends… but that’s another story.

Fr Matthew