Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Lectionary: 671

Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.

Although Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome displays a reliquary containing Saint Peter's wooden chair – and the Knights of Columbus have invested an enormous sum to make the reliquary shine brilliantly – it is not where Pope Leo presides over the entire church. 

Saint Peter's -- the largest church in the world -- is not a Cathedral. Meaning, it is not the center of Rome's archdiocese nor the seat of the Pope, the bishop of Rome. That honor belongs to an older building, Saint John Lateran. That is where the pope's cathedra – his chair – is. The word cathedral comes from the Latin word, cathedra. In every cathedral, you will see in the sanctuary a chair prominently featured in the sanctuary. That is where the bishop sits during his diocesan celebrations. I once had a weekday mass here in the Louisville cathedral and I was reminded after Mass that I should not sit in the Bishop’s chair!  

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially) known as the “Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World.” It is commonly known as the Lateran Basilica or Saint John Lateran.

Although it is not nearly as big as the gargantuan Saint Peter’s, it is nonetheless huge. It was built over the ruins of a pagan temple where Mithras, the god of Roman soldiers, had been worshipped with the slaughter of animals. The building has been built, remodelled, altered, and rebuilt many times since the Church took possession of it in the fourth century; and has suffered all the vicissitudes of Roman history including earthquakes, storms, fires, vandals, sieges, wars, and neglect. 

In the early thirteenth century Pope Innocent III had a nightmare in which he saw the basilica collapsing until a strange little man stepped forward and singlehandedly pushed the walls back into place. And then the dreaming pope recognized the midnight hero as a little man from Assisi, whom we know as Saint Francis. Franciscans believe the dream foretold the Saint’s role in calling the Church back to penance, holiness, and its redeeming work. 

I visited there several years ago, before seeing Saint Peter’s, and was astonished by the size of the statues of the apostles in the nave; they are twelve feet high. The doors were taken from the ruins of the Roman senate and are fourteen feet high. Made of solid bronze, they are so well balanced that one man can swing them open, as the pope does during holy years. They are just high enough that the colossal statues might walk through them without stooping, if they want to. 

Every year, on November ninth, the Church celebrates the dedication of Saint John Lateran, and we hear this passage from the Gospel of Saint John: 

Jesus answered (his critics) and said to them,

"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."

The Jews said,

"This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,

and you will raise it up in three days?"

But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.

It is easy to misinterpret the words of Jesus as the Jews did, and to misunderstand the reasons for remembering the consecration of a church in 324 AD. Americans in particular cannot imagine why any religion or government would go to the trouble of maintaining an old stone building for many centuries through earthquakes, fires, invasions, riots, and wars, through restorations, rebuildings, and rededications. What’s the point? Doesn’t the church consist of people and not of buildings? 

Writing to the Corinthians, Saint Paul wrote to his Christian friends about another basilica.

You are God's building.

According to the grace of God given to me,

like a wise master builder I laid a foundation,

and another is building upon it.

But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,

for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,

namely, Jesus Christ.

Saint John Lateran and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Indianapolis are images of a church which is more solid, substantial, and dependable than bronze, timbers, stones, and steel. Those earthly materials must finally age, disintegrate, and disappear into the earth from which they were made. But the word of God endures forever, and so does the word which we speak when we gather in a cathedral, parish church, chapel, or the sanctuary of our homes. If stones and steel are real and solid – if they stay where they are for centuries – then God’s word and his faithful people must be more solid, more real, and more dependable. 

A church building means,”We're here to stay. We belong, we love it here; we make a difference, and we are holy like this building is holy. It's an enormous investment for us but this church is more valuable and more sacred to us than our homes, properties, cars, or bank accounts. This room is a room where we live and love and have our being. It is God's house and our house. We are grateful to the ancestors who built it and we give it to our children with the sure and certain confidence that God will be here for them as he has always been for us