18 November - The Dedication of the Basilicas of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 
unless otherwise stated.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
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Illustrations and captions, within The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition, are taken from Una Voce of Orange County web-site at http://uvoc.org/, which reproduces them with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press.

Greater-Double.
White Vestments.

Interior of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome,
by Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1731).
Current location: Saint Louis Art Museum.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Italiano: Statua di San Paolo di fronte alla facciata della 

Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura a Roma.
Basilica of Saint Paul's-without-the-Walls, Rome.
Photo: May 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Berthold Werner.

 (Wikimedia Commons)

After having celebrated, on 5 August, the Dedication of Saint Mary of the Snow (better known under the name of Saint Mary Major) at Rome, and that of Saint Michael on 29 September, and that of Saint John Lateran on 9 November, and, in some Dioceses, a common Dedication Feast of all the consecrated Churches, the Church today celebrates that of the Basilicas of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Rome.

Thus, are all these anniversaries solemnised in the season after Pentecost, a time when we give all our thoughts to the Church and to the Saints, of whom our Temples are the living image.

The Basilica of Saint Peter, on the Vatican, and that of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls, both erected by Emperor Constantine on the sites of their martyrdom, are hardly inferior, owing to their origin and importance, to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. They were also consecrated by Saint Sylvester on 18 November.

English: St. Peter's Basilica seen from the River Tiber. 

Magyar: Vatikánváros látképe.

Italiano: Veduta del Vaticano dal Tevere.

Photo: January 2005.

Source: Flickr

Author: Sébastien Bertrand from Paris, France

Reviewer: Andre Engels.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church of Saint Peter is on the site of the Circus of Nero, and, under its High Altar, lie the sacred remains of the Head of the Apostles, making it, with Saint John Lateran, the centre of the whole Christian world.

Here is always held the Station of the Saturday in Ember Week, when Holy Orders are conferred; here, also, are held the Stations of the Third Sunday in Advent, and of The Epiphany, and of Passion Sunday, and of Easter Monday, and of Ascension Day, and of Pentecost, and of the Litanies of Saint Mark, and of Rogation Wednesday.

Lastly, it is here that Mass is solemnly sung on the Feast of The Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, on 29 June, and on the Feasts of the Chair of Saint Peter at Rome, 18 January, and of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch, 22 February.

English: Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls, Vatican, Italy. 

With its length of 432 feet, this Basilica ranks 11th among the largest Churches in the world.

Français : Basilique Saint-Paul-hors-les-Murs, Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie. 

Avec sa longueur de 131,66 mètres, cette Basilique se classe au 11è rang 

parmi les plus grandes églises au monde.

Photo: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Church, already remarkable in the 4th-Century, was enlarged at a later date and completely rebuilt in the 16th-Century, when it was falling into decay. Pope Julian II and Pope Leo X had recourse to the greatest artists of the age and the combined plans of Bramante and Michael Angelo (sic) raised over the tomb of Saint Peter the greatest and richest Church in the world, which Pope Urban VIII consecrated on 18 November 1626.

The Basilica of Saint Paul, situated on the other side of Rome, was also built in the 4th-Century over the tomb of the Apostle of the Gentiles. On account of the distance, it was only used for the Station four times a year: On the Feast of Holy Innocents; on Sexagesima Sunday; on the Wednesday of the fourth week in Lent or day of the greatest scrutiny; and on Easter Tuesday. Mass is solemnly celebrated there on the day of the Commemoration of Saint Paul, 30 June, and on the day of his Conversion, 25 January.

Having been destroyed by fire in 1823, the Church was rebuilt by Pope Gregory XVI and Pope Pius IX, and consecrated by the latter on 10 December 1854. He maintained, however, today's Feast, joining the anniversary of the two Dedications under the original date of 18 November.

MASS: Terribilis. Page 1704. The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.