In the Liturgical Calendar for 2014, the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time is superseeded by the Dedication of the St John Lateran Basilica. We do not have Homily Sources for this feastday. Sorry about that and thank you for your patience. we will return to normal service next week The Dedication of the St John Lateran Basilica The Church of St John on the Lateran in Rome is ‘Mother and Head of all the churches of the City and the World’. It is the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome, and was called ‘St John’ after the two monasteries once attached, dedicated to St John the Divine and St John the Baptist. It is however dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour. Although the Pope lives in the Vatican and in the shadow of St Peter’s Basilica, the Basilica of St John Lateran is the Pope’s church, the cathedral of the diocese of Rome, where the Bishop of Rome presides. It has as its patrons St John the Evangelist and St John the Baptist (because of the baptistery adjacent to the basilica). Since the 7th century it has also been known as the Basilica of the Most Holy Saviour. Patrick Duffy traces the reason for the feast. The Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace in Rome originally belonged to the Laterani family, who served as administrators to several emperors, but Nero confiscated it. When Constantine became emperor, he gave it over to the Church for a synod. Basilica becomes the cathedral of Rome Pope Sylvester I (314-335) then had the basilica (which literally means a royal hall for transacting business or legal matters) of the house extended and it functioned as a church. It soon became the cathedral of the Church of Rome and the seat of the popes for a thousand years. Five ecumenical councils, all called Lateran, were held there: in 1123, 1139, 1179, 1215 and 1512-17. While the popes were absent from Rome in Avignon (1305-1403), the Basilica fell into disrepair. The popes did not return to live there, but resided first at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, then at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, and lastly at the Vatican. Restoration of palace and basilica The palace was restored by Pope Sixtus V (Felice Peretti 1585-90). Pope Innocent X (Giovanni Battista Pamphili 1644-55) commissioned the present structure of the basilica in 1646 and Pope Clement XII (Lorenzo Corsini 1730-40) gave it a grand new façade in 1735. This is a souvenir copy of the creation of the Vatican State by the Lateran Pacts. Its “trinity” of King Victor Emmanuel III, Pope Pius XI and Benito Mussolini. The Lateran Treaty 1929 In 1929 the Lateran Treaty was signed in the Lateran Palace by Mussolini and Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Gasparri. Today the palace houses the Vicariate and offices of the diocese of Rome which Pope John XXIII located there. Bishop of Rome, and Pope of the Universal Church, prays in his parish Church, the Lateran Basilica The Basilica today St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the diocese of Rome where the Bishop of Rome presides, especially on Holy Thursday for the Chrism Mass. One of Rome’s most imposing churches, the Lateran’s towering facade is crowned with 15 colossal statues - Christ, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and 12 doctors of the Church. Beneath its high altar rest the remains of the small wooden table on which tradition holds St. Peter himself celebrated Mass. Relevance of the feast We are all members of our own local church, work for he universal kingdom of Christ, are also members of this “mother-church” in Rome. This feast helps us move beyond our narrow geographical confines to a sense of the universal Church. See also 18th November, the Dedication of the Churches of St Peter and St Paul.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 19:07:21 +0000
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