St. John Lateran

On the main façade of the Church of St. John Lateran in Rome is a Latin inscription proclaiming it “Mother and Head of all Churches of the City and the World.” And on November 9th — the anniversary of its dedication by Pope Sylvester I in the year 324 — the universal Church observes a special feast, which, this year, falls on a Sunday. But why is the dedication of a Roman church celebrated throughout the world?

When we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran, we are not celebrating a church as much as we are celebrating the church. St. John Lateran was from earliest times both the primary church of and the residence of the Popes. It was only when they returned from Avignon in the 14th century that the Popes took up residence at the Vatican palace, which had, they thought, a healthier situation. But St. John Lateran continues to be the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome (who is, of course, the Pope!) and remains one of only four major basilicas in the world. It was at St. John Lateran that the first synods and councils took place, as the bishops of the early Church fought heresies and hammered out concepts we take for granted today. And it was at St. John Lateran, on December 24th, 1999, that Pope John Paul II opened the Holy Doors to mark the beginning of the Great Jubilee Year 2000.

In celebrating this feast, we celebrate our unity with the Church throughout the world and throughout the ages. We give glory to God whose “dwelling is with the human race,” to his Son who became one of us, and to the Spirit who makes of us living temples. We are all called upon to build the Church: “You give us grace upon grace,” says the Preface of the Dedication of a Church, “to build the temple of your Spirit, creating its beauty from the holiness of our lives.”

Meditation from St. Caesarius of Arles, a homily given on the feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran

My fellow Christians, do we wish to celebrate joyfully the birth of this temple? Then let us not destroy the living temples of God in ourselves by works of evil. I shall speak clearly, so that all can understand. Whenever we come to church, we must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we expect this church to be. Do you wish to find this basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your soul with the filth of sins. Do you wish this basilica to be full of light? God too wishes that your soul be not in darkness, but that the light of good works shine in us, so that he who dwells in the heavens will be glorified. Just as you enter this church building, so God wishes to enter into your soul, for he promised: I shall live in them, and I shall walk the corridors of their hearts.

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