November 9, 2025

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

by Fr. Boniface Endorf, O.P.

Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,

This Sunday is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the official church (ie: Cathedral) of the Bishop of Rome (ie: the pope). The Lateran is the highest ranking Basilica in the Church, and the oldest. It was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine in 324. Its full name is the “Basilica of the Most Holy Savior and of the Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran.” Because it’s named after our Lord, it takes precedence over a Sunday Mass, and thus we celebrate the Lateran’s Dedication today.

Many think that the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome is the Pope’s Cathedral, but it’s actually the Lateran. A Basilica is a church recognized for its importance and beauty, and the Lateran is the highest ranking Basilica. A Cathedral is the Church that is the official seat of a bishop, and the Lateran is both a Basilica and the Bishop of Rome’s Cathedral. The name comes from a bishop’s cathedra, or seat. In every Cathedral there is the official seat of the bishop with the bishop’s or diocese’s coat of arms on it. You can see the Archbishop of New York’s cathedra in the Cathedral of St. Patrick uptown.

God bless,
Fr. Boniface