November 9, 2025
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Dear Parish Family:
Many might think Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican is the Pope’s main church. But actually, Saint Peter’s is just one of his main churches. Saint Peter, the first pope, was the Bishop of Rome. As his successor, the Pope is too. Every bishop who is head of a diocese has a cathedra, that is, his special chair, which is the sign of his teaching authority. His cathedra is located in the cathedral of his diocese. Bishop Senior’s cathedra is located in Saint Patrick Cathedral in downtown Harrisburg. The cathedral church of Rome is the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. That is where the Pope’s cathedra is. Since the Pope is the Universal Shepherd of the entire Church, his cathedral serves as a home for us all. That’s why today’s anniversary of its dedication is celebrated across the globe.
The Lateran Basilica is considered the oldest public church in Rome. It predates the Saint Peter’s Basilica (the Vatican) by two years. While there were places of worship used by the Christians, they were clandestine and low key. Christianity was illegal, and Christians were persecuted and even killed. They had to keep where they gathered for Mass off the radar, and sometimes literally underground. The Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in Rome with the Edict of Milan in 313. So as to give the young Church a suitable place for celebrating its feasts, he gave Pope Melchiades the lands of the Lateran estate, which had come to him as part of his wife’s dowry, in order that the Pope might build a church there.
The Lateran Basilica was consecrated in 324 by Pope Sylvester I and dedicated to the Holy Savior. In the 9th century, Pope Sergius III also dedicated it to Saint John the Baptist. In the 12th century, Pope Lucius II added Saint John the Evangelist to the title. From the 4th to the 14th century, before the pope moved to Avignon, France, in 1309, the Lateran was the main seat of the papacy. The pope lived there. In 1378, Pope Gregory XI returned the papal headquarters from France to Rome but decided to move the papal offices to the Vatican, since the Lateran was in very poor condition. In 1650, Pope Innocent X commissioned a reconstruction of the Basilica.
As the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), it ranks above all other churches in the Catholic Church, including Saint Peter’s at the Vatican. Beneath its high altar are the remnants of a small wooden table on which tradition holds Saint Peter himself celebrated Mass.
The dedication of the Lateran Basilica invites us to think about the beauty and dignity of all churches and the holy things and sacred actions that take place in them. In a special way, it calls us to reflect on the incredible gift of our own church. May God bless our efforts to renew our church to keep Jesus at the center of all we are and do. May all persons find a home and true welcome in our church, the house of God!
Love and prayers,
Father Neil Sullivan