Founded on Christ

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Mother Church of Christendom, the cathedral basilica of St. John Lateran.  As the cathedral of Rome, it has played and continues to play an important role in the life of the Catholic Church, liturgically and politically, even more so than St. Peter's.  

St. John Lateran is Christendom's earliest basilica. Ordered by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, it became the Popes' own cathedral and official residence for the first millennium of Christian history.  It was to Pope Melchiade (311-314) that Constantine gave the palace on Monte Celio, formerly property of the patrician Laterani family (hence the basilica's appellation "Lateran").

In the course of its history, St. John Lateran has gone through many rebuilds.  It was sacked by barbarians twice in the 5th century,  rebuilt by Pope Leo the Great (440-461), and centuries later by Pope Hadrian I (772-795). In the late 800's, it was nearly destroyed by an earthquake, and so Pope Sergius III  decided to renovate it (904-911). Later the church was heavily damaged by fires in 1308 and 1360.

It was not until after the turn of the popes from the "Babylonian Captivity" in Avignon that the basilica was given much thought again.  By 1377, the church was in such disrepair that the popes transferred their
Living quarters to present-day Vatican City, and hence gives evidence as to why St. Peter's is always thought to be the most important church in Rome.  

Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) completely raized the original buildings of the basilica and replaced them with a new-renaissance structure. Later, Pope Innocent X (1644-1655) reinovated the interior of the church building in 1650. Finally, Pope Clement XII (1730-1740) installed a baroque fascade in  1735.

Many important historic events have taken place in St. John Lateran, including 5 Ecumenical Councils and many diocesan synods. In 1929 the Lateran Pacts, which established the territory and status of the State of Vatican City, were signed here between the Holy See and the Government of Italy.

The church building itself gives evidence to the rich history and tradition of the Catholic Church.  But more importantly, it serves as a reminder, as do the thousands of other cathedral churches throughout the world, that our Church has but one Foundation, Who is Christ, and He has given to his people shepherds, fathers and friends in the apostles and their successors.  

I will leave you with the last verse of one of my favorite hymns, ( and the one used at Lauds this morning), "The Church's One Foundation." it is a hymn of hope and trust in God and His Church.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore opprest,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distrest;
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song. Amen.