When we think of the seat of Catholicism, images of St. Peter’s in Rome come to mind. In reality, the seat of Catholicism is actually the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome because this is the official church that the pope presides in as bishop of Rome. It is this capacity — the bishop of Rome — that makes the pope head of all bishops. Thus it is this church, where the pope presides, that stands as the mother of all churches around the world.

This church was the first one built after Constantine ceased the persecution of Christians in 313. For years, the Laterni family held the land where the church now stands, which gives the basilica its name. The basilica was dedicated in 324 and that is where popes lived and presided until the 1300s. Four ecumenical councils of the magnitude of Vatican II were held there.

The basilica was originally dedicated under the name of Most Holy Savior, but in the sixth century took on the names of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. Now it is known as the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which rolls all of this history together.

Beneath the altar of the Lateran basilica stands a small wooden altar upon which, according to tradition, St. Peter celebrated Mass. The Lady Chapel of Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart contains something similar: the ornate altar in that chapel holds a piece of wood that comes from a portable altar used by St. Peter. 

The term, "basilica," was first applied to buildings in ancient Rome that served as an public court for hearings. Early Christians had to gather in secret in caves and private homes for worship, but when the faith expanded into the empire, the faithful were allowed to build larger assembly spaces. They did not want to associate their faith with pagan temples of the time, so they turned to the basilica as an architectural model for a public gathering space. The traditional basilica has a long nave and a central, raised area that stands at the head of the space. Christian churches often add a transept to make the space in the shape of the cross, such as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus. 

Today, the term "basilica" is applied to a Catholic church of distinction, or one that is a place of pilgrimage. A basilica is not synonymous with the term "cathedral," which is the church where the diocesan bishop presides in each diocese. There are more than 1,500 basilicas around the world. 

 The Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus was dedicated in 1888 as the Church of the Sacred Heart--Pope John Paul II raised the church to the status of basilica in 1992. It is the mother church for the priests and brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States--it is where these men make their final vows and are ordained priests.

Celebrating the feast of this sacred church is a way to honor the communion experienced by the whole Roman Catholic Church. It also reminds us of an essential truth: our temples of stone stand as symbols for the Christian community. A church is a place where God lives, and God also dwells in the community that assembles there. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians (chapter 3) that each of us is a living stone in the temple of God.

Lord Jesus, cornerstone of the Church, bless us on this feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica!