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The ornate facade of the Basilica, with Columns, Great West Door, and
Statues of The Twelve Apostles on the Roof, with a Latin inscription below them.
Photo: 28 September 2016.
Source: Own work.
Author: MrPanyGoff
(Wikimedia Commons)
The official name, in Latin, is “Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptista et Evangelista in Laterano”, which translates in English as “Arch-Basilica of The Most Holy Saviour and Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist at The Lateran”, and, in Italian, as “Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano”.
It is the oldest, and ranks first, among the four Papal Basilicas, or Major Basilicas, of Rome (having “The Cathedra” of The Bishop of Rome). It claims the Title of “Ecumenical Mother Church” among Roman Catholics. The current Arch-Priest of Saint John Lateran is Camillo Cardinal Ruini, Cardinal Vicar-General for The Diocese of Rome. The President of the French Republic is “Ex-Officio” the “first and only Honorary Canon” of the Basilica, a Title inherited from The Kings of France, who have held it since King Henry IV of France.
An inscription on the façade, “Christo Salvatori”, indicates the Church's Dedication to “Christ The Saviour”, for the Cathedrals of all Patriarchs are Dedicated to Christ, Himself.
As The Cathedral of The Bishop of Rome, it ranks above all other Churches in The Catholic Church, including Saint Peter's Basilica in The Vatican City. For that reason, unlike all other Roman Basilicas, it holds the Title of Arch-Basilica.
The Cathedral is located outside of The Vatican boundaries, within The City of Rome. However, it has been granted a special “extra-territorial” status as one of The Properties of The Holy See. This is also the case with several other buildings, after the solving of “The Roman Question” with The Lateran Treaty. The Lateran Basilica is adjacent to the Lateran Palace.
President Nicolas Sarkozy
at The European Peoples Party Summit, October 2010.
Photo: 28 October 2010.
Source: EPP Summit October 2010
Author: European People's Party
(Wikimedia Commons)
The President of The French Republic, [it was Nicolas Sarkozy (in Office 2007 - 2012)], is “Ex-Officio” the “first and only Honorary Canon” of The Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran, a Title inherited from The Kings of France, who have held it since King Henry IV of France.
The Basilica stands over the remains of the Castra Nova equitum singularium, the “New Fort” of The Imperial Cavalry Bodyguard. The Fort had been established by Emperor Septimius Severus in 193 A.D., but, following the victory over Maxentius (whom the “Equites singulares augusti” had fought for) at The Battle of the Milvian Bridge, by Emperor Constantine I, The Imperial Guard were abolished and the Fort demolished.
Substantial remains of the Fort lie directly beneath the Basilica Nave. The rest of the Basilica site was occupied during the early Roman Empire by the Palace of the “Gens Laterani”. The “Laterani” served as Administrators for several Emperors; Sextius Lateranus was the first Plebeian to attain the rank of Consul. One of The Laterani, Consul-designate Plautius Lateranus, became famous for being accused by Emperor Nero of conspiracy against The Emperor. The accusation resulted in the confiscation and redistribution of his properties.
The Lateran Palace fell into the hands of The Emperor when Emperor Constantine I married his second wife, Fausta, sister of Maxentius. Known by that time as the “Domus Faustæ”, or “House of Fausta”, The Lateran Palace was eventually given to The Bishop of Rome by Constantine. The actual date of the gift is unknown, but scholars believe it had to be during the Pontificate of Pope Miltiades, in time to host a Synod of Bishops in 313 A.D. that was convened to challenge the Donatist Schism, declaring Donatism as Heresy. The Palace Basilica was converted and extended, becoming the residence of Pope Saint Silvester I, eventually becoming the Cathedral of Rome, The Seat of The Popes as Bishops of Rome.
English: The Nave of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran after
the radical transformation by Francesco Borromini. With its length of 400 feet,
this Basilica ranks fifteenth among the largest Churches in the World.
Français : Basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran, Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie. Avec sa longueur de 121,84 mètres, cette Basilique se classe au 15è rang parmi les plus grandes églises au monde.
Photo: 15 September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174
In reflection of the Basilica's claim to primacy in the World as “Mother Church”, the words “Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput” (meaning “Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the Churches in the City and the World, The Mother and Head”) are incised in the front wall between the main entrance doors.
The Lateran Palace and Basilica have been Re-Dedicated, twice. Pope Sergius III Dedicated them to Saint John the Baptist in the 10th-Century, in honour of the newly-Consecrated Baptistry of the Basilica. Pope Lucius II Dedicated The Lateran Palace and Basilica to Saint John the Evangelist in the 12th-Century.
However, Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist are regarded as Co-Patrons of The Basilica, the Chief Patron being Christ the Saviour, Himself, as the inscription in the entrance of the Basilica indicates, and as is Traditional in The Patriarchal Basilicas.
Thus, the Basilica remains Dedicated to The Saviour, and its Titular Feast is The Transfiguration. That is why, sometimes, the Basilica will be referred to by the full Title of Arch-Basilica of The Most Holy Saviour and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in The Lateran.
The Church became the most important Shrine in honour of the two Saints, not often jointly Venerated (but, see Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence). In later years, a Benedictine Monastery was established at The Lateran Palace, devoted to Serving the Basilica as a Devotional to the two Saints.
The Apse of The Papal Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome,
containing The Bishop of Rome's Seat.
Photo: 11 June 2018.
Source: Own work.
Author: BrettLewis88
(Wikimedia Commons)
Every Pope from Pope Miltiades occupied The Lateran Palace until the Reign of the French Pope, Clement V, who, in 1309, decided to transfer the Official Seat of The Catholic Church to Avignon, a Papal “Fief” that was an enclave within France.
The Lateran Palace has also been the site of five Ecumenical Councils. [See Lateran Councils].
During the Avignon Papacy, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica began to decline. Two destructive fires ravaged The Lateran Palace and the Basilica, in 1307 and, again, in 1361. In both cases, the Avignon Papacy sent money to their Bishops in Rome to cover the costs of reconstruction and maintenance. Despite the action, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica lost their former splendour.
When the Avignon Papacy formally ended and the Pope again resided in Rome, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica were deemed inadequate, considering the accumulated damage. The Popes took up residency at the Basilica di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere and, later, at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
The Lateran Palace has also been the site of five Ecumenical Councils. [See Lateran Councils].
During the Avignon Papacy, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica began to decline. Two destructive fires ravaged The Lateran Palace and the Basilica, in 1307 and, again, in 1361. In both cases, the Avignon Papacy sent money to their Bishops in Rome to cover the costs of reconstruction and maintenance. Despite the action, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica lost their former splendour.
When the Avignon Papacy formally ended and the Pope again resided in Rome, The Lateran Palace and the Basilica were deemed inadequate, considering the accumulated damage. The Popes took up residency at the Basilica di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere and, later, at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
English: The 13th-Century Cloisters of the Monastery that previously
provided Monks for all the Liturgical Services at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
Deutsch: Rom, Lateran, Kreuzgang des Klosters.
Photo: 27 July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Accreditation: Wikimedia-Commons-E-Mail an Dnalor_01
Author: Dnalor 01
(Wikimedia Commons)
There were several attempts at reconstruction of the Basilica before Pope Sixtus V's definitive project. Pope Sixtus V hired his favourite architect, Domenico Fontana, to oversee much of the project. The original Lateran Palace was torn down and replaced with a new building. On The Square, in front of The Lateran Palace, is the largest standing Obelisk in the World, known as The Lateran Obelisk (weight estimated at 455 tons).
Its manufacture was started by Thutmose III and it was erected by Pharaoh Thutmose IV before the great Karnak temple of Thebes, Egypt. Intended by Emperor Constantine I to be shipped to Constantinople, the very pre-occupied Constantius II had it shipped, instead, to Rome, where it was re-erected in The Circus Maximus in 357 A.D. At some time, it broke and was buried under The Circus. In the 16th-Century, it was located and dug up, and Pope Sixtus V had it re-erected on a new Pedestal.
Further renovation on the Interior of the Basilica ensued under the direction of Francesco Borromini, commissioned by Pope Innocent X. The twelve Niches, created by his architecture, came to be filled by 1718 with statues of The Apostles, using the most prominent Roman Rococo sculptors.
Depiction of Pope John X.
He was the first Pope to be buried within The Walls of Rome.
Date: Pre-1923.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Pope John X (914 A.D. - 928 A.D.) was the first Pope buried within The Walls of Rome. He was granted such a prominent burial due to rumours that he was murdered by Theodora, during a historical period known as The Pornocracy. Cardinals Vincenso Santucci and Carlo Colonna are also buried in Saint John Lateran.
The vision of Pope Clement XII for reconstruction was an ambitious one: He launched a competition to design a new façade. Over twenty-three architects, mostly working in the, then, current Baroque Style, competed. The putatively impartial jury was led by Sebastiano Conca, president of The Roman Academy of Saint Luke. The winner of the competition was Alessandro Galilei. The façade, as it appears today, was completed in 1735. Galilei's façade, however, removed all vestiges of Traditional, ancient, Basilica Architecture, and imparted a Neo-Classical facade.
An Apse, lined with mosaics and open to the air, still preserves the memory of one of the most famous halls of the ancient Palace, the “Triclinium” of Pope Leo III, which was The State Banqueting Hall. The existing structure is not ancient, but it is possible that some portions of the original mosaics have been preserved in the three-part mosaic of its Niche: In the centre, Christ gives their mission to The Apostles; on The Left, he gives The Keys to Saint Sylvester and The Labarum to Emperor Constantine, while, on The Right, Saint Peter gives the Papal Stole to Pope Leo III and The Standard [Editor: The Labarum] to Emperor Charlemagne.
Some few remains of the original buildings may still be traced in the City Walls outside The Gate of Saint John, and a large wall, decorated with paintings, was uncovered in the 18th-Century within the Basilica, itself, behind The Lancellotti Chapel.
A few traces of older buildings also came to light during the excavations made in 1880, when the work of extending the Apse was in progress, but nothing was published of real value or importance.
Portrait of Pope Leo XIII.
This Pope was the last one not to be entombed in Saint Peter's Basilica.
He is entombed in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
Date: Circa 1898.
Source: The United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division
under the digital ID cph 3c22745.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
A great many donations from The Popes, and other benefactors, to the Basilica are recorded in The Liber Pontificalis, and its splendour at an early period was such that it became known as the “Basilica Aurea”, or “Golden Basilica”. This splendour drew upon it the attack of The Vandals, who stripped it of all its treasures. Pope Leo I restored it around 460 A.D., and it was again restored by Pope Hadrian, but, in 897 A.D. it was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake — “ab altari usque ad portas cecidit” (“it collapsed from the Altar to the Doors”) — damage so extensive that it was difficult to trace the lines of the old building, but these were, in the main, respected and the new building was of the same dimensions as the old.
This second Church lasted for four hundred years and then burned in 1308. It was re-built by Pope Clement V and Pope John XXII, only to be burned down once more in 1360, but again re-built by Pope Urban V.
Through these various vicissitudes, the Basilica retained its ancient form, being divided by rows of Columns into Aisles, and having, in front, a Peristyle, surrounded by Colonnades with a Fountain in the middle, the conventional Late-Antiquity format that was also followed by the old Saint Peter's.
The façade had three windows, and was embellished with a Mosaic representing Christ, The Saviour of the World. The porticoes were frescoed, probably not earlier than the 12th-Century, commemorating the Roman fleet under Vespasian, the taking of Jerusalem, the Baptism of The Emperor Constantine, and his “Donation” of The Papal States to The Church.
Inside the Basilica, the Columns no doubt ran, as in all other Basilicas of the same date, the whole length of the Church from East to West, but, at one of the re-buildings, probably that which was carried out by Pope Clement V, the feature of a Transverse Nave was introduced, imitated, no doubt, from the one which had been added, long before this, at the Basilica of Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls. Probably at this time the Church was enlarged.
Some portions of the older buildings still survive. Among them, the pavement of Mediæval Cosmatesque Work, and the statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, now in The Cloisters. The graceful Baldacchino over The High Altar, which looks so utterly out of place in its present surroundings, dates from 1369. The Stercoraria, or Throne, of Red Marble, on which The Popes sat, is now in The Vatican Museums. It owes its unsavoury name to the anthem sung at The Papal Enthronement, “De stercore erigens pauperem” (“Lifting up The Poor out of the dunghill”, from Psalm 112).
English: The High Altar, Saint John Lateran, Rome.
Deutsch: Rom, San Giovanni in Laterano, Innenansicht.
Photo: 6 April 2006.
Source: Own work.
Accreditation: Wikimedia-Commons-E-Mail an Dnalor_01
Author: Dnalor 01
(Wikimedia Commons)
Some portions of the older buildings still survive. Among them, the pavement of Mediæval Cosmatesque Work, and the statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, now in The Cloisters. The graceful Baldacchino over The High Altar, which looks so utterly out of place in its present surroundings, dates from 1369. The Stercoraria, or Throne, of Red Marble, on which The Popes sat, is now in The Vatican Museums. It owes its unsavoury name to the anthem sung at The Papal Enthronement, “De stercore erigens pauperem” (“Lifting up The Poor out of the dunghill”, from Psalm 112).
From the 5th-Century A.D., there were seven Oratories surrounding the Basilica. These, before long, were incorporated within the Church. The Devotion of visiting these Oratories, which held its ground all through The Mediæval period, gave rise to the similar Devotion of The Seven Altars, still common in many Churches.
English: The Organ at Saint John Lateran, Rome.
Čeština: Varhany v Lateránské bazilice v Římě, Itálie.
Photo: April 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Karelj
(Wikimedia Commons)
Of the façade by Alessandro Galilei (1735), the cliché assessment has ever been that it is the façade of a Palace, not of a Church. Galilei's front, which is a screen across the older front, creating a Narthex or Vestibule, does express The Nave and Double Aisles of the Basilica, which required a Central Bay wider than the rest of the sequence; Galilei provided it, without abandoning the range of identical Arch-Headed Openings, by extending The Central Window by Flanking Columns that support The Arch, in the familiar Serlian motif.
By bringing The Central Bay forward very slightly, and capping it with a Pediment that breaks into The Roof Balustrade, Galilei provides an entrance doorway on a more-than-colossal scale, framed in the paired colossal Corinthian Pilasters that tie together the façade in the manner introduced at Michelangelo's Palace on The Campidoglio.
The Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs), wooden steps that encase white Marble steps, are, according to Roman Catholic Tradition, the staircase leading once to The Praetorium of Pontius Pilate at Jerusalem, hence Sanctified by The Footsteps of Jesus Christ during His Passion. The Marble stairs are visible through openings in the wooden risers. Their Translation from Jerusalem to the complex of Palaces that became the ancient Seat of Popes in the 4th-Century A.D. is credited to Saint Helena, mother of The Emperor, Constantine I.
In 1589, Pope Sixtus V relocated The Scala Sancta to their present location in front of the ancient Palatine Chapel (The Sancta Sanctorum). Ferraù Fenzoni completed some of the frescoes on the walls.
Between the Basilica and the City wall, there was, in former times, the great Monastery, in which dwelt the Community of Monks whose duty it was to provide the Services in the Basilica. The only part of it which still survives is the 13th-Century Cloister, surrounded by graceful twisted Columns of inlaid Marble. They are of a Style intermediate between The Romanesque Proper and The Gothic, and are the work of Vassellectus and The Cosmati. This beautiful Cloister dates to the Early-13th-Century.
The octagonal Lateran Baptistry stands somewhat apart from the Basilica. It was founded by Pope Sixtus III, perhaps on an earlier structure, for a legend grew up that Emperor Constantine I had been Baptised there and enriched the structure. (He was actually Baptised in The East, by an Arian Bishop.) This Baptistry was, for many generations, the only Baptistry in Rome, and its octagonal structure, centred upon the large basin for full immersions, provided a model for others throughout Italy, and even an iconic motif of Illuminated Manuscripts, “The Fountain of Life”.
There are six extant Papal tombs inside the Basilica:
Alexander III (Right Aisles);
Sergius IV (Right Aisles);
Clement XII Corsini (Left Aisle);
Martin V (in front of The Confessio);
Innocent III (Right Transept);
Leo XIII (Left Transept), by G. Tadolini (1907).
The last of these was the last Pope not to be entombed in Saint Peter's Basilica.
A dozen additional Papal tombs were constructed in the Basilica, starting in the 10th-Century, but were destroyed during two fires that ravaged the Basilica in 1308 and 1361. The remains of these charred tombs were gathered and reburied in a Polyandrum.
The Popes of the destroyed tombs were:
Pope John X (914 A.D. - 928 A.D.);
Pope Agapetus II (946 A.D. - 955 A.D.);
Pope John XII (955 A.D. - 964 A.D.);
Pope Paschal II (1099–1118);
Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124);
Pope Honorius II (1124–1130);
Pope Celestine II (1143–1144);
Pope Lucius II (1144–1145);
Pope Anastasius IV (1153–1154);
Pope Clement III (1187–1191);
Pope Celestine III (1191–1198);
Pope Innocent V (1276).
Popes during this period whose tombs are unknown and who may have been buried in The Lateran Basilica include:
Pope John XVII (1003);
Pope John XVIII (1003–1009);
Pope Alexander II (1061–1073).
Pope John X was the first Pope buried within the walls of Rome, granted such a prominent burial due to rumours that he was murdered by Theodora, during a historical period known as The Pornocracy. Cardinals Vincenso Santucci and Carlo Colonna are also buried in this Church.The twelve Niches, created by Borromini's architecture, were left empty for decades until 1703, when Pope Clement XI encouraged the completion of the decoration by sponsoring a competition to select the designs for larger-than-life sculptures of The Apostles.
The chosen sculptural designs were by some of the most prominent Late-Baroque sculptors in Rome, including:
Camillo Rusconi: Andrew, Matthew, James the Greater, John the Evangelist;
Francesco Moratti: Simon the Zealot;
Angelo de' Rossi: James the Less;
Giuseppe Mazzuoli: Philip;
Lorenzo Ottoni: Thaddeus;
Pierre-Étienne Monnot: Peter, Paul;
Pierre Le Gros the Younger: Bartholomew, Thomas.
In The Liturgical Calendar of The Catholic Church, 9 November is The Feast of The Dedication of The Basilica of Saint John Lateran (Dedicatio Basilicae Lateranensis), often referred to in older Missals as The Dedication of The Basilica of Saint Saviour (or The Holy Saviour). In view of its role as The Mother Church of the whole inhabited World, this Feast Day is Celebrated as a Feast in the present Universal Calendar of The Catholic Church.
The remains of the 13th-Century Cloisters of the great Monastery which provided Liturgical Services to Saint John Lateran.
Illustration: COLOSSEUM ROME TICKETS
In 1589, Pope Sixtus V relocated The Scala Sancta to their present location in front of the ancient Palatine Chapel (The Sancta Sanctorum). Ferraù Fenzoni completed some of the frescoes on the walls.
Between the Basilica and the City wall, there was, in former times, the great Monastery, in which dwelt the Community of Monks whose duty it was to provide the Services in the Basilica. The only part of it which still survives is the 13th-Century Cloister, surrounded by graceful twisted Columns of inlaid Marble. They are of a Style intermediate between The Romanesque Proper and The Gothic, and are the work of Vassellectus and The Cosmati. This beautiful Cloister dates to the Early-13th-Century.
The octagonal Lateran Baptistry stands somewhat apart from the Basilica. It was founded by Pope Sixtus III, perhaps on an earlier structure, for a legend grew up that Emperor Constantine I had been Baptised there and enriched the structure. (He was actually Baptised in The East, by an Arian Bishop.) This Baptistry was, for many generations, the only Baptistry in Rome, and its octagonal structure, centred upon the large basin for full immersions, provided a model for others throughout Italy, and even an iconic motif of Illuminated Manuscripts, “The Fountain of Life”.
Papal Arms of Pope Leo XIII,
whose tomb is at Saint John Lateran, and not Saint Peter's Basilica.
Français: Armoiries du pape Léon XIII : D'azur au cyprès de sinople planté sur une plaine de même accompagné au francs quartier d'une comête d'or et en pointe de deux flaurs
de lys d'argent, à la fasce d'argent brochant sur le tout.
Date: 11 August 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Odejea
(Wikimedia Commons)
There are six extant Papal tombs inside the Basilica:
Alexander III (Right Aisles);
Sergius IV (Right Aisles);
Clement XII Corsini (Left Aisle);
Martin V (in front of The Confessio);
Innocent III (Right Transept);
Leo XIII (Left Transept), by G. Tadolini (1907).
The last of these was the last Pope not to be entombed in Saint Peter's Basilica.
A dozen additional Papal tombs were constructed in the Basilica, starting in the 10th-Century, but were destroyed during two fires that ravaged the Basilica in 1308 and 1361. The remains of these charred tombs were gathered and reburied in a Polyandrum.
The Popes of the destroyed tombs were:
Pope John X (914 A.D. - 928 A.D.);
Pope Agapetus II (946 A.D. - 955 A.D.);
Pope John XII (955 A.D. - 964 A.D.);
Pope Paschal II (1099–1118);
Pope Callixtus II (1119–1124);
Pope Honorius II (1124–1130);
Pope Celestine II (1143–1144);
Pope Lucius II (1144–1145);
Pope Anastasius IV (1153–1154);
Pope Clement III (1187–1191);
Pope Celestine III (1191–1198);
Pope Innocent V (1276).
Popes during this period whose tombs are unknown and who may have been buried in The Lateran Basilica include:
Pope John XVII (1003);
Pope John XVIII (1003–1009);
Pope Alexander II (1061–1073).
English: Saint John Lateran Palace, Rome.
Deutsch: San Giovanni-in-Laterano.
Photo: 18 March 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Dnalor 01
(Wikimedia Commons)
Pope John X was the first Pope buried within the walls of Rome, granted such a prominent burial due to rumours that he was murdered by Theodora, during a historical period known as The Pornocracy. Cardinals Vincenso Santucci and Carlo Colonna are also buried in this Church.The twelve Niches, created by Borromini's architecture, were left empty for decades until 1703, when Pope Clement XI encouraged the completion of the decoration by sponsoring a competition to select the designs for larger-than-life sculptures of The Apostles.
The chosen sculptural designs were by some of the most prominent Late-Baroque sculptors in Rome, including:
Camillo Rusconi: Andrew, Matthew, James the Greater, John the Evangelist;
Francesco Moratti: Simon the Zealot;
Angelo de' Rossi: James the Less;
Giuseppe Mazzuoli: Philip;
Lorenzo Ottoni: Thaddeus;
Pierre-Étienne Monnot: Peter, Paul;
Pierre Le Gros the Younger: Bartholomew, Thomas.
In The Liturgical Calendar of The Catholic Church, 9 November is The Feast of The Dedication of The Basilica of Saint John Lateran (Dedicatio Basilicae Lateranensis), often referred to in older Missals as The Dedication of The Basilica of Saint Saviour (or The Holy Saviour). In view of its role as The Mother Church of the whole inhabited World, this Feast Day is Celebrated as a Feast in the present Universal Calendar of The Catholic Church.
