Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Praxedes. Monday In Holy Week.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines.
Privileged Feria.

Violet Vestments.

Basilica of Saint Praxedes,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: December 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Lenten Station was originally held at Saints Nereus and Achilleus, but the tottering state of this Church caused it to be transferred in the 13th-Century to Saint Praxedes. The precious Pillar of the Flagellation, so called, brought over from the Holy Land by Cardinal Colonna at the time of the Fifth Crusade, was placed by him in this, his Titular Church, where it is still kept. In exchange for the iron ring attached to this Pillar, Saint Louis presented the Church with the Three Thorns of the Holy Crown, that are still preserved there. The relics of many Martyrs, gathered from the suburban Catacombs, were brought into this Church under Pope Paschalis I.

In the Epistle, Isaias, typifying Jesus, prophesies His obedience and the indignities of His Passion. He, likewise, foretells His triumph, for He has placed His trust in God, who will raise Him to life again. Finally, he shows how the Jews were to be confounded. Then the Gentiles, through Baptism, the public penitents, by being reconciled, and the Faithful, by their Easter Confession and Holy Communion, will pass from darkness to the light of which Jesus is the fount.

Interior of the Basilica di Sante Prassede,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: March 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Sixtus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Gospel tells of the supper, of which Jesus partook in the house of Simon the Leper, six days before the Pasch. While Martha, all activity, served at table, Mary, more loving, went up to Christ, and, breaking the long narrow neck of an alabaster vase, filled with an ointment of great price, poured the contents over His feet. And Jesus commends her for having thus anticipated the embalming of His body. The indignant protests of Judas lead us to fear the crime into which he will fall as a result of his avarice.

Pope Paschal I,
wearing a Zuchetto and Pallium,
depicted in the Apsidal mosaic
at Santa Prassede.
He is presenting a model of the Basilica
to Christ, and wears a square Halo,
which means he was alive
at the time of the mosaic.

Photo of mosaic: August 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Marcus Cyron.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Finally, the presence at the supper of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised to life, is a forecast of the coming victory of Christ over death.

The choice of this Gospel is not without connection with that of the Stational Church: Saint Praxedes and Saint Pudentiana put their house at the disposal of Pope Saint Pius I, just as Mary and Martha received Jesus into their house.

English: Saint Praxedes'
Ciborium and Apse mosaics.

Deutsch: Santa Prassede, Rom;
Triumphbogen und Apsis.

Photo: May 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Welleschik.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Julius III
(Papacy 1550 - 1555).
One-time Titular of the
Basilica of Saint Praxedes.

Artist: Girolamo Sicciolante.
(After Sebastiano del Piombo).

Photo of Painting: March 2013.

User: Mathiasrex.

Current Location: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Source/Photographer: www.rijksmuseum.nl

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Basilica of Saint Praxedes ( Latin: Basilica Sanctae Praxedis, Italian: Basilica di Santa Prassede all’Esquillino), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an ancient Titular Church and Minor Basilica in Rome, located near the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The current Cardinal Priest of Titulus Sancta Praxedis is Paul Poupard.

The Church, in its current form, was commissioned by Pope Hadrian I around the year 780 A.D., and built on top of the remains of a 5th-Century structure. It was designed to house the bones of Saint Praxedes (Italian: S. Prassede) and Saint Pudentiana (Italian: S. Pudenziana), the daughters of Saint Pudens, traditionally Saint Paul's first Christian convert in Rome. The two female Saints were murdered for providing Christian burial for early Martyrs, in defiance of Roman Law. The Basilica was enlarged and decorated by Pope Paschal I, circa 822 A.D.

Pope Paschal, who reigned 817 A.D. - 824 A.D., was at the forefront of the Carolingian Renaissance, started and advocated by the Emperor Charlemagne. They desired to get back to the foundations of Christianity, theologically and artistically. Pope Paschal, thus, began two, linked, ambitious programmes: The recovery of Martyrs' bones from the Catacombs of Rome and an almost unprecedented Church building campaign. Paschal dug up numerous skeletons and transplanted them to this Church. The Titulus "S. Praxedis" was established by Pope Evaristus, around 112 A.D.

The Church provided the inspiration for Robert Browning's poem, "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church."

Saint Charles Borromeo
(one-time Titular of the Basilica).

Artist: Giovanni Ambrogio Figino (1548–1608).

Source/Photographer: http://www.arteecarte.it/
archivio/arteecarte_n.13/diocesano.php

(Uploaded by User:Lupo to en.wikipedia).

This Photo: December 2009.

User: Thomas Gun.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The main Altarpiece is a canvas of Saint Praxedes Gathering the Blood of the Martyrs (circa 1730 - 1735) by Domenico Muratori.

The most famous element of the Church is the mosaic decorative programme. Paschal hired a team of professional mosaicists to complete the work in the Apse, the Apsidal Arch, and the Triumphal Arch. In the Apse, Jesus is in the centre, flanked by Saints Peter and Paul, who present Prassede and Pudenziana to God. On the far left, is Paschal, with the Square Halo of the living, presenting a model of the Church as an offering to Jesus. Below, runs an inscription of Paschal's, hoping that this offering will be sufficient to secure his place in Heaven.

English: The Triumphal Arch.
Interior of Basilica of Saint Praxedes,
Rome, Italy.

Deutsche: Santa Prassede, Rom;
Triumphbogen (Panorama).

Photo: May 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Welleschik.

(Wikimedia Commons)

On the Apsidal Arch, are twelve men on each side, holding wreaths of victory, welcoming the Souls into Heaven. Above them, are symbols of the four Gospel writers: Mark, the lion; Matthew, the man; Luke, the bull; and John, the eagle, as they surround a Lamb on a Throne, a symbol of Christ's eventual return to Earth.

Though those mosaics, as well as those in the Saint Zeno Chapel, a Funerary Chapel that Paschal built for his mother, Theodora, are the best-known aspects of the Church, an intriguing and relatively hidden aspect are ancient frescoes. Ascending a spiral staircase, one enters a small room, covered in scaffolding. However, on the wall is a fresco cycle dating, most likely, from the 8th-Century. The frescoes depict, probably, the life-cycle of the Saint of the Church, Praxedes.

Representation of Saint Louis IX, considered to be true to life. 

Early-14th-Century statue from the Church of Mainneville, Eure, France.

Saint Louis IX, King of France (1226 - 1270), presented the Basilica 

with three alleged Thorns from the Holy Crown.

Photo: December 2007.

User: Michaelsanders.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Santa Prassede also houses a segment of the alleged Pillar, upon which Jesus was flogged and tortured before his Crucifixion in Jerusalem. The Relic is alleged to have been retrieved in the Early-4th-Century A.D., by Saint Helena (mother of the Roman Emperor, Constantine I), who, at the age of eighty, undertook a Pilgrimage to Golgotha, in the Holy Land, to found Churches for Christian worship and to collect Relics associated with the Crucifixion of Jesus.

English: Basilica of Saint Praxedes.

Italiano: Roma, Santa Prasede.

Photo: May 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Berthold Werner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Among these legendary Relics, retrieved by Helena, which included pieces of the True Cross (now housed in the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, also in Rome) and wood from Jesus' Crib, was the segment of the Pillar, now housed in Santa Prassede. The authenticity of these Relics, including the Santa Prassede Pillar, is disputed by historians and Christians, alike, due to lack of forensic evidence and the massive proliferation of fake Relics during the Middle Ages.

Among known Titulars of this See, are Lambertus Scannabecchi (later Pope Honorius II, circa 1099), Ubaldo Allucingoli (later Pope Lucius III, 1141), Alain de Coëtivy (1448), Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte (later Pope Julius III), Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), Rafael Merry del Val (1903 - 1930).

Lenten Station At The Papal Arch-Basilica Of Saint John Lateran. Palm Sunday.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Indulgence of 25 years and 25 Quarantines.

Semi-Double.

Privilege of the First Class.

Violet Vestments.

Papal Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptistae et
Evangelistae in Laterano Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput.

English: Main façade of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran
(by Alessandro Galilei, 1735).

Italiano: Facciata principale della Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Roma), 

progettata da Alessandro Galilei (1735).

Français: Façade principale de la basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran 

(Rome) par Alessandro Galilei, 1735.

Photo: 2006/09/07.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jastrow.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In today's Liturgy, the two-fold point of view, from which the Church regards the Cross, is expressed in two Ceremonies. One is marked with joy and the other by sadness.

First, comes the Blessing and Procession of Palms, in which everything overflows with a Holy Joy, which enables us, after two thousand years, to revive the spirit of the magnificent scene of Our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Then follows the Mass, whose Chants and Lessons relate exclusively to the sorrowful memory of Our Redeemer's Passion.

The Pope's Chair,
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: October 2005.

Source: Flickr.

Author: Ern.

Reviewer: Mac9.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Blessing and Procession of Palms.

At Jerusalem, in the 4th-Century, on the very spot where the event took place, was read the Gospel narrative in which we see Christ hailed as King of Israel and taking possession of His capital, Jerusalem, which is really no more than the type of Jerusalem, above.

After this, a Bishop, mounted on an ass, rode up to the Church of the Resurrection on the summit of the Mount of Olives, surrounded by a multitude carrying Palms and singing Anthems and Hymns. This Ceremony was preceded by the Solemn Reading of the passage from Exodus, in which the Flight from Egypt is related.

English: Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
With its length of 400 feet, this Basilica ranks fiteenth 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: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

God's people, encamped under the shadow of the palm trees, near the twelve fountains where Moses promised them the Manna, is a type of the Christian people, who, breaking off branches from the trees, bear witness that God's Son, Jesus, comes to deliver Souls from sin, leading them to the Baptismal Font and nourishing them with the Manna of the Eucharist.

English: Saint Peter, by Pierre-Étienne Monnot.
Nave of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Rome, Italy.

Français: Saint Pierre, par Pierre-Étienne Monnot.
Nef de la basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran (Rome).

Photo: 2006/09/07.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jastrow.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church of Rome, it would seem, adopted this practice about the 9th-Century and added to it the Rite for the Blessing of the Palms, which has given to this Sunday the name of "The Easter of Flowers".

In this Benediction, the Church prays for health of mind and body for those who dwell in houses where the Palms are preserved.

This procession of Christians, who, with Palm in hand and songs of Hosanna on their lips, proclaim Christ's Kingship every year, throughout the whole world and in all generations, is composed of all Catechumens, of public penitents and of the Faithful. All of whom will be united at the Easter Feast to this glorious Victor, through the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Penance.

The decorated Coffered Ceiling 

of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: March 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Grenouille vert.

(Wikimedia Commons)

It is this that is represented by the Procession of Palms, when it stops at the door of the Church, into which some members of the Choir have already found their way. They chant, alternately with the Clergy; on the one side, "the Angelic Choir", and, on the other, Christ's soldiers, still plunged in the strife of battle, hailing the King of Glory each in his turn.

Soon, the door opens, after the Sub-Deacon has knocked on it three times with the foot of the Cross, and the Procession enters the Church; so does the Cross of Christ open Heaven to us and so will the Elect, one day, enter with their Lord into eternal glory.

We should carefully keep a Blessed Palm in our home. It is a Sacramental, which will obtain for us Graces in virtue of the Church's Prayer and strengthen our faith in Christ, who, full of mercy, has conquered sin, death and the devil in a victory of which these sacred Palms are the type.

English: The Choir and Apse
in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Rome, Italy.

Deutsch: Chorraum und Apsis
von San Giovanni in Laterano, Rom

Photo: September 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Stefan Bauer, http://www.ferras.at

(Wikimedia Commons)

Mass for Palm Sunday.

The Blessing of Palms takes place at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), which, in Rome, represents Bethlehem, the birthplace of Him whom the Magi hailed as "King of the Jews." Thence, the Procession goes to Saint John Lateran, in which Church, in former times, the Lenten Station took place, since, by its dedication to Saint Saviour, it calls up memories of the Passion, which is the subject of today's Mass.

The Redeemer's triumph must be preceded by His humiliation "even to the death of the Cross" (Epistle), which is to serve as a model for us, that, "instructed by His patience", we may "partake in His Resurrection".

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Papal Arch-Basilica Of Saint John Lateran. Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris Et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptistae Et Evangelistae In Laterano Omnium Urbis Et Orbis Ecclesiarum Mater Et Caput.

Italic Text and Illustrations taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia)
(unless otherwise accredited).

English: Main façade of the Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran
by Alessandro Galilei, 1735.

Italiano: Facciata principale della
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Roma), 

progettata da Alessandro Galilei (1735).

Français: Façade principale de la
basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran 

(Rome) par Alessandro Galilei, 1735.

Photo: 2006/09/07.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jastrow.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Papal Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran (Italian: Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano), commonly known as Saint John Lateran's Arch-Basilica and Saint John Lateran's Basilica, is the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Rome and the official Ecclesiastical Seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope.

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 Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist at the Lateran, and in Italian as Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano.

English: Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
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: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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 Agostino Vallini, 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 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.

François Hollande aux Journées de Nantes,
organisées par le Nouvel Observateur, La Cité, Nantes.

Photo: January 2012.

Source: Flickr: François Hollande et Stéphane 
Hessel aux Journées de Nantes.

Author: Jean-Marc Ayrault.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The President of the French Republic, in 2012 it was François Hollande,
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 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 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 Constantine I, the 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 Nero of conspiracy against the Emperor. The accusation resulted in the confiscation and re-distribution 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 Faustae" 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 Sylvester I, eventually becoming the Cathedral of Rome, the Seat of the Popes, as Bishops of Rome.

One of the sculptures of the Twelve Apostles
in the Niches of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

It shows Saint Matthew as the Tax Collector.

Artist: Camillo Rusconi (1658–1728).

Date: From 1713 until 1715.

Current Location: San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome.

Photo: September 2006.

Photographer: Marie-Lan Nguyen.

Attribution: © Marie-Lan Nguyen / 
Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5.

Source: Own work.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The official Dedication of the Basilica and the adjacent Lateran Palace was presided over by Pope Sylvester I in 324 A.D., declaring both to be "Domus Dei" or "House of God." In its interior, the Papal Throne was placed, making it the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. 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 Cathedral, the chief Patron being Christ the Saviour, Himself, as the inscription in the entrance of the Basilica indicates, and as is tradition in the Patriarchal Cathedrals.

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.

English: The North facade
of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran
(Loggia delle Benedizioni).

Deutsch: Das Bild zeigt den Lateranspalast
und das Seitenportal der Lateransbasilika
von der Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano aus.

Italiano: Facciata laterale della
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Roma),
con a sinistra il Palazzo Laterano.

Photo: 28.09.2004.

User: Maus-Trauden.

(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.

English: The Cloisers of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome.

Italiano: Chiostro della Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano,
Roma, Italy.

Photo: October 2005.

Source: Flickr.

Author: Ern.

Mac9.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cloisters of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

Photo: May 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Briséis.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Eventually, the Palace of the Vatican was built (adjacent to the Basilica of Saint Peter, that already existed at the Vatican since the time of Constantine), and the Papacy moved in; the Papacy remains there, today.

There were several attempts at reconstruction of the Basilica before Pope Sixtus V's definitive project. Pope Sixtus hired his favorite architect, Domenico Fontana, to oversee much of the project.

English: The Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Rome, Italy,
1752.

Italiano: Giuseppe Vasi, Piazza di S. Giovanni in Laterano
a Roma. Incisione del 1752, 

da Le Piazze principali con obelischi, colonne ed altri ornamenti.

Artist: Giuseppe Vasi (1710 - 1782).

Date: 1752.

Credit: Originally Uploaded by de: Benutzer:Maus-Trauden.

Source/Photographer: [1], from de:wiki with these data:
Vasi: Lateranspalast Quelle: Giuseppe Vasi: 
''Le Piazze principali con obelischi, colonne ed altri ornamenti'' - 1752 

Caption: Piazza di S. Giovanni in Laterano {{Bild-PD}}.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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 Thutmose IV before the great Karnak temple of Thebes, Egypt.

Intended by Constantine I to be shipped to Constantinople, the very preoccupied 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 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.

Lithograph of Pope John X, made before 1923.

Source: http://www.fatimachurchkodambakkam.
org/pope-10century.html

This image: March 2013.

User: The Theosophist.

(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 23 architects, mostly working in the current Baroque idiom, competed. The putatively impartial jury was Chaired 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 Constantine, while, on the right, Saint Peter gives the Papal Stole to Leo III and the Standard to 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.

Pope Leo XIII in 1880.

Source: 1880 book on Pope Leo XIII.

Author: Karl Benzinger.

This Image: February 2012.

User: Fma12.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Leo XIII (1878 - 1903) was the last Pope not to be
entombed in Saint Peter's Basilica. His tomb is in Saint John Lateran.

In 1889, Pope Leo XIII authorised the founding of The Catholic University of America 

in Washington, D.C., and granted it Papal Degrees in Theology.

Among the activities of Leo XIII, that were important for the English-speaking world, he restored the Scottish hierarchy in 1878. In the following year, on 12 May 1879, raised to the rank of Cardinal the convert Clergyman, John Henry Newman, who was to be Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. 

In British India, too, Leo XIII established a Catholic hierarchy in 1886, and regulated some long-standing conflicts with the Portuguese authorities. Of outstanding significance, not least for the English-speaking world, was Leo's encyclical, "Apostolicae Curae", 

on the invalidity of the Anglican Orders, published in 1896.

A great many donations from 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 I, 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 rebuilt by Pope Clement V and Pope John XXII, only to be burned down once more in 1360, but again rebuilt 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 Antique format that was also followed by the old Saint Peter's Basilica.

Mass being celebrated in the Basilica
di San Giovanni in Laterano.

Photo: May 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Joonasl.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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. However, 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-without-the-Walls. Probably at this time, the Church was enlarged.

The Chapel where the Choir practices,
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano,
Roma, Italy.

Photo: October 2005.

Source: Flickr.

Author: Ern.

Reviewer: Mac9.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Some portions of the older buildings still survive. Among them the Pavement of Mediaeval 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, there were seven Oratories surrounding the Basilica. These, before long, were incorporated in the Church. The devotion of visiting these Oratories, which held its ground all through the Mediaeval period, gave rise to the similar Devotion of the Seven Altars, still common in many Churches.

English: Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Rome, Italy.

North side of the Choir, with the 16th-Century Organ.

Français: Basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran, Vatican,
située à Rome, Latium, Italie. 

Côté nord du chœur, avec les grandes orgues du XVIè siècle.

Photo: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(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 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, is credited to Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine I.

San Giovanni in Laterano,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: October 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Maros M r a z (Maros).

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1589, Pope Sixtus V re-located 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 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, centered 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".

English: Papal Arms of Pope Leo XIII, 

whose tomb is at Saint John Lateran, and not at Saint Peter's.

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: August 2008.
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); and 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 re-buried 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), and Pope Alexander II (1061–1073).

English: The Lateran Palace (left) situated next to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Rome, Italy.

Deutsch: Das Bild zeigt den Lateranspalast und das Seitenportal der Lateransbasilika 

von der Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano aus.

Italiano: Facciata laterale della Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Roma), 

con a sinistra il Palazzo Laterano.

Commons upload by Carlomorino.

Source: Originally from de.wikipedia; description page is (was) here Aufnahme: Das Foto wurde von mir im Oktober 2004 gemacht. Copyright: de:GNU-Lizenz 21:33, 11. Feb 2005 

Diana 927 x 596 (99.289 Byte) (Lateranspalast).

Author: User Diana on de.wikipedia.

(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 Day 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.

Holy Week And Easter 2014. Saint Mary's Catholic Church, 28, Crown Lane, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 5PL.

Saint Mary's Catholic Church, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 5PL Web-Site is at

ST. MARY'S CHISLEHURST

Lenten Station At Saint John's-Before-The-Latin-Gate. Saturday In Passion Week.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines.
Violet Vestments.

English: The Portal of the Basilica
of Saint John's-before-the-Latin-Gate,
Rome, Italy.

Italiano: San Giovanni a Porta Latina de Rome.

Français: Puits et portique de l'Église
San Giovanni a Porta Latina de Rome.

Photo: July 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Lenten Station, on this eve of Palm Sunday, is of a comparatively late origin; formerly [before the Station at Saint John's-before-the-Latin-Gate was appointed in the 12th-Century], the Pope spent a part of the day distributing alms [in his Palace, the Basilica of Saint John Lateran] to the poor, and rested in preparation for the tiring functions of the following days. When, later on, a Mass was appointed for this day, the parts to be sung by the Choir were borrowed from the Mass of yesterday.

The Stational Church chosen was at Saint John's-before-the-Latin-Gate. It is near the place where the Appian Way branches off, forming, to the left, the Latin Way.

English: The Nave of the Basilica
of Saint John's-before-the-Latin-Gate,
Rome, Italy.

Français: Nef de l'église San Giovanni
a Porta Latina à Rome.

Photo: July 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

[According to Tertullian (in The Prescription of Heretics), Saint John was banished (presumably to Patmos) after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome (by order of Emperor Domitian) and suffering nothing from it. It is said that all in the entire Colosseum audience were converted to Christianity upon witnessing this Miracle. This event would have occurred during the reign of Domitian, a Roman Emperor who was known for his persecution of Christians in the Late-1st-Century.]

The Mass sums up all the great Mysteries which are about to fill Holy Week.

English: The Garden of Gethsemane (referred to, below) 

with the Church of Maria-Magdalene in the background.

Deutsch: Bild des Garten Gethsemane mit der
Maria-Magdalena-Kirche im Hintergrund.

Photo: July 2006.

Sources: http://users.wsg.net/bedrosian/images/Gethsemane.JPG aus http://users.wsg.net/bedrosian/photography.htm.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Gospel shows us Jesus "the King of Israel" acclaimed by the Jews and, some days later, "raised from the earth" and crucified. In the few Gentiles, who expressed to Philip their desire to see Christ, let us foresee the many recruits that the Church is to make among the heathen nations.

Jesus is going to die like the grain of wheat, that He may produce much fruit. For the moment, "His Soul is troubled", as it will be in the Garden of Gethsemane. But, "it is for that He has come", "to glorify His Father". And, as a voice from Heaven tells us, this glorification will be complete, for "the prince of this world shall be cast out" and the Saviour raised upon a Cross and, reaching to Heaven, "will draw all things to Him".

The Saviour here reveals to us His whole Heart, which wishes, at the price of such cruel sufferings, to ruin our enemy and secure our salvation.

The five Pairs of Columns
in San Giovanni a Porta Latina,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: May 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Finally, Jesus speaks of those who refuse to follow Him and who walk in darkness, not knowing where they go, and, by the mouth of Jeremias, He anathematises "those who plot against the just. Their children will be delivered up to famine and their husbands put to death, for an unforeseen enemy will fall upon them and exterminate them" (Epistle). This prophecy was fulfilled. During the Siege of Jerusalem, by the Romans, in 70 A.D., the Jews, who had not died of famine, perished by the sword.

To avoid the effects of Divine Justice, let us die to sin and we shall produce much fruit unto eternal life.

English: The wall of the Narthex in the Basilica
of Saint John's-before-the-Latin-Gate,
Rome, Italy.

Français: Mur du Narthex de l'Église
San Giovanni a Porta Latina de Rome.

Photo: July 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

San Giovanni a Porta Latina (Italian: "Saint John-before-the-Latin-Gate") is a Basilica Church in Rome, near the Porta Latina (on the Via Latina) of the Aurelian Wall. It is currently the Titular Church of Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, former Archbishop of Kraków.

According to Tertullian, as quoted by Saint Jerome, in 92 A.D., Saint John the Evangelist survived Martyrdom at Rome, under the Emperor Domitian, by being immersed in a vat of boiling oil, from which he emerged unharmed. He was later exiled to the island of Patmos. This event was traditionally said to have occurred at the Latin Gate (located on the Southern portion of the Roman Wall). The nearby Chapel of San Giovanni in Oleo is said to be on this very spot.

English: His Eminence, Franciszek Macharski,
Cardinal-Priest of San Giovanni a Porta Latina.

Polski: Homilia kardynała Franciszka Macharskiego
w sierpniu 2002 r. (21?) w sanktuarium Miłosierdzia
Bożego w Łagiewnikach Krakowskich.

Photo: April 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Robert Wrzesiński.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The event was referred to in the Roman Martyrology, which was begun in the 7th-Century, when already there was a celebration of the event.

The tradition, for the building of the Basilica of Saint John-before-the-Latin-Gate, places its construction during the Pontificate of Pope Gelasius I (492 A.D. - 496 A.D.). This is consistent with the oldest of the roof tiles, which have the imprint of a taxation stamp for the Ostrogoth King and ruler of Italy, Theodoric the Great (reigned 493 A.D. - 526 A.D.). One of these ancient roof tiles is now used in the Basilica as a Lectern.

In the 8th-Century, the Basilica was restored by Pope Adrian I, and, later, the Bell-Tower and Portico were added. At the end of the 12th-Century, the Basilica was re-Consecrated by Pope Celestine III. In the 16th- and 17th-Centuries, a Baroque Ceiling and other Baroque features were added to the interior.

English: Apsidal frescoes
in San Giovanni a Porta Latina,
Rome, Italy.

Français: Fresques de l'abside de l'église
San Giovanni a Porta Latina de Rome.

Photo: November 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1940 - 1941, the Baroque features were removed and the Basilica was returned to a more primitive simplicity. This last renovation was carried out by the Rosminian Fathers, who, in 1938, were given care of the Basilica and the nearby building, where they opened the Collegio Missionario Antonio Rosmini, which houses their International House of Studies.

The main entrance to the Basilica is fronted by a small Piazza, with a 100-year-old Cedar and an 8th-Century Well-Head, nearly reproducing this aspect of the Basilica that would have been seen at the re-Consecration by Pope Celestine III in the 12th-Century.

The Portico (or Porch) of the Basilica is supported by four re-used Classical Columns (each of a different marble) supporting five Arches. The main door is framed with a simple mosaic of red and green porphyry.

The Well-Head, from the time of Pope Adrian I, has a double row circular design around its barrel and a Latin inscription completely around its crown: IN NOMINE PAT[RES] ET FILII ET SPI[RITUS SANT]I "In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" and a quote from the Prophet Isaiah: OMN[E]S SITIE[NTES VENITE AD AQUAS] "All you who are thirsty come to the water" and the name of the stone-carver: EGO STEFANUS "I am Stephen".

English: Marble Columns in the Nave of the Basilica
of Saint John's-before-the-Latin-Gate,
Rome, Italy.

Français: Les colonnes de la nef de l'Église
San Giovanni a Porta Latina de Rome.

Photo: July 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The interior of the Basilica is divided into three Naves, divided by two rows of Columns, on which rest semi-circular Arches. The two Columns closest to the Sanctuary are of white marble with deep fluting. The other Columns are of various types of marble and granite, capped with a diverse collection of Ionic Capitals. The central Nave terminates with a half-hexagon Apse. Each of the three sides of the Apse opens with a large window, filled with honey-coloured onyx.

Occupying the Ledge of the central window, is a carved wooden Crucifixion scene, including Saint John the Evangelist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. In front of the Altar, is a mosaic Pavement in Cosmatesque style. The geometric pattern of red and green porphyry is framed in white marble (as well as re-used fragments of white marble with Latin lettering) and is thought to have been created before the 12th-Century. Inserted in the front step of the Altar, is the “Title” of the Basilica, of ancient origin, discovered during the renovations of 1940: "TIT. S. IOANNIS ANTE PORTAM LA[TINAM]".

In the years 1913-1915, then recently-discovered frescoes were restored above the main Altar. After this work, another search of the face of the Central Nave revealed the presence of a full circle of Mediaeval frescoes. The restoration of these frescoes was completed with the full restoration of the Basilica in 1940-1941. The Central Nave is decorated with about fifty scenes representing the Old and New Testaments, from the Creation of the World to the glorious Apocalypse of the New Jerusalem. The frescoes were executed by several artists under the direction of one master.