Lenten Station at Saint Mary Major

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal
for Wednesday in Holy Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Mary Major
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Privileged Feria
Violet Vestments

Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major
Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore (Italian)
Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris (Latin) 

(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by LPLT, November 2008)

From today, the Stational celebrations of Holy Week are held in Rome at the great Basilicas. That of Wednesday is held at Saint Mary Major, the largest and most celebrated Sanctuary dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whose sufferings the Church commiserates during these days.

The first passage, from the Prophet Isaias, bears on the Passion. The blood that dyes the Saviour’s garments is His own most precious blood. Instead of crushing the people in His indignation, He suffers and dies for them.

Santa Maria Maggiore

by M. Ohlmüller (dated 1883)

Watercolours

(From Wikimedia Commons)

The second passage foretells the principal features of the Passion, with such remarkable precision, that the Fathers of the Church speak of Isaias as the fifth Evangelist. It is “the Man of Sorrows” who “was led as a sheep to the slaughter and was dumb”, “He was covered with wounds and reputed with the wicked.” “He was bruised for our sins,” “Cut off out of the land of the living, He had the ungodly to guard His sepulchre and the rich to bury Him after His death”, “and by His bruises we are healed”.

Justifying to the full His title of Saviour, “He became obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross” (Introit) as we are shown it today in the Gospel according to Saint Luke.

 

Capela Borghese, Santa Maria Maggiore 

(From Wikimedia Commons. 

Photo taken by Ricardo André Frantz, 2005)

Catechumens and Christian penitents, alike, “we were in truth like sheep that had gone astray, each one having turned aside into his own way”, and Jesus, “having the iniquity of us all laid on Him, has received in return a multitude of disciples” (Second Lesson). During the Easter festivities, the Souls of men will become reconciled to God in the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance.

Renewing at Mass the mysteries of the Passion of Our Lord, let us pray “to be delivered by His merits from the power of the enemy and to obtain the grace of His Resurrection” (First and Second Collects, and Secret).

Lenten Station at Saint Prisca's

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal
for Tuesday in Holy Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Prisca's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Privileged Feria
Violet Vestments

Basilica of Santa Prisca

The Station is at the Church of Saint Prisca, of whom Saint Paul speaks: “Salute Prisca and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, and the Church which is in their house”. This was one of the twenty-five Parishes of Rome in the 5th-Century.

The Epistle, Gradual, Offertory and Communion are a perfect adaptation of the passages in the Old Testament to Christ persecuted. He is “the meek lamb that is carried to be a victim”, and which God, by a striking revenge on them (Epistle), “delivers from the hand of the sinner” (Offertory). The Gospel of Saint Mark describes the death of Christ. The Introit and the Collects show that the Church, which continues the saving work of Christ, revives the mysteries of His Passion (Collect) and “glories in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection” (Introit).

Like the Catechumens, who formerly were baptised, and public penitents, who were reconciled at Easter, the faithful are about to participate, by their Easter Confession and Holy Communion, “in the mysteries of Our Lord’s Passion in such a manner as to deserve to obtain pardon” (Collect).

Pope John XXIII (1958 - 1963)

In 1953, he was appointed Patriarch of Venice and, accordingly, raised to the rank of Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca by Pope Pius XII. As a sign of his esteem, the President of France, Vincent Auriol, claimed the ancient privilege possessed by French monarchs and bestowed the Red Hat on Roncalli at a ceremony in the Elysee Palace. 

“May our healing Fasts, in union with the sacrifices of Christ” (Secret) “purify us from all remains of our old nature, and enable us to be formed anew unto holiness” (Prayer Over The People).

Santa Prisca is a Basilica Church in Rome, devoted to Saint Prisca, a 1st-Century martyr, on the Aventine Hill. It was built in the 4th- or 5th-Century over a temple of Mithras, and is recorded as the Titulus Priscae in the Acts of the 499 A.D. Synod.

Damaged in the Norman Sack of Rome, the Church was restored several times. The current aspect is due to the 1660 Restoration, which included a new facade by Carlo Lombardi.

His Eminence, Justin Francis Rigali,
Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia,
currently, Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Priscae

In the interior, the columns are the only visible remains of the ancient Church. Also, a baptismal font, allegedly used by Saint Peter, is conserved. The altar in the crypt contains the relics of Saint Prisca; the frescoes in the crypt are by Antonio Tempesta. Anastasio Fontebuoni frescoed the walls of the nave with Saints and Angels with the instruments of passion. In the sacristy, is a painting of the Immaculate Conception with Angels by Giovanni Odazzi, and, on the main altar, a Baptism of Santa Prisca by Domenico Passignano.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Priscae is Justin Francis Rigali, Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia (US). Previous Cardinal-Priests include: Angelo Roncalli (1953), later Pope John XXIII.

Pope John XXIII was the last Pope to use full Papal Ceremony, some of which was abolished after Vatican II, while the rest fell into disuse. His Papal Coronation ran for the traditional five hours (Pope Paul VI, by contrast, opted for a shorter ceremony, while later Popes declined to be crowned). However, as with his predecessor, Pope Pius XII, he chose to have the coronation itself take place on the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica, in view of the crowds assembled in Saint Peter's Square below.

Arms of Pope John XXIII

(From Wikimedia Commons. Author User:mAgul, August 2007)

Upon his election, Roncalli chose John as his regnal name. This was the first time in over 500 years that this name had been chosen; previous Popes had avoided its use since the time of the Antipope John XXIII during the Western Schism.

On the choice of his name Pope John said that "I choose John ... a name sweet to us because it is the name of our father, dear to me because it is the name of the humble parish Church where I was baptized, the solemn name of numberless cathedrals scattered throughout the world, including our own Basilica [Saint John Lateran]. Twenty-two Johns of indisputable legitimacy have [been Pope], and almost all had a brief pontificate. We have preferred to hide the smallness of our name behind this magnificent succession of Roman Popes."

Upon his choosing the name, there was some confusion as to whether he would be known as John XXIII or John XXIV; in response, John declared that he was John XXIII, thus affirming the antipapal status of antipope John XXIII.

Before this antipope, the most recent Popes called John were John XXII (1316–1334) and John XXI (1276–1277). However, there was no Pope John XX, owing to confusion caused by mediaeval historians misreading the Liber Pontificalis to refer to another Pope John between John XIV and John XV.

Lenten Station at Saint Praxedes's

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal
for Monday in Holy Week
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Praxedes's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Privileged Feria
Violet Vestments

Basilica of Saint Praxedes
Basilica di Santa Prassede all’Esquilino (Italian)
Basilica Sanctae Praxedis (Latin)

The Station was originally held at SS Nereus and Achilleus, but the tottering state of this Church caused it to be transferred in the 13th-Century to Saint Praxedes's. 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 Basilica di Santa Prassede 

(From Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Photo taken by Sixtus, March 2006)

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 depicted in the mosaic of Santa Prassede. 

He is presenting a model of the church to Christ, and wears a square halo, 

which means he was alive at the time of the mosaic

Finally, the presence at the supper of Lazurus, 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, like Mary and Martha received Jesus into theirs.

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.

 

Pope Julius III (1550 - 1555)

Titular of this See

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 St. 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. 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

Titular of the Basilica

The main altarpiece is a canvas of Saint Praxedes Gathering the Blood of the Martyrs (c. 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.

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 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.

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

 Presented the Basilica with three alleged thorns from the Holy Crown

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. 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, c. 1099), Ubaldo Allucingoli (later Pope Lucius III, 1141), Alain de Coëtivy (1448), Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte (later Pope Julius III, 1542-1543), Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), Rafael Merry del Val (1903-1930).

The Seven Joys of Mary, Mother of Jesus

Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)

The Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary and the Virgin of the Rosary

The Seven Joys of the Virgin (or of Mary, the Mother of Jesus) is a popular devotion to events of the life of the Virgin Mary, arising from a trope of medieval devotional literature and art.

The Seven Joys were frequently depicted in mediaeval devotional literature and art. The Seven Joys are usually listed as:

The Annunciation
The Nativity of Jesus
The Adoration of the Magi
The Resurrection of Christ
The Ascension of Christ to Heaven
The Pentecost or Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Mary
The Coronation of the Virgin in Heaven

 

Raphael's Sistine Madonna painting (1513) at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome 

is considered a key example of High Renaissance art

 
Alternative choices were made and might include the Visitation and the Finding in the Temple, as in the Franciscan Crown form of Rosary, which uses the Seven Joys, but omits the Ascension and Pentecost. Depiction in art of the Assumption of Mary may replace or be combined with the Coronation, especially from the 15th-Century onwards; by the 17th-Century, it is the norm. As with other sets of scenes, the different practical implications of depictions in different media such as painting, ivory miniature carving, liturgical drama and music led to different conventions by medium, as well as other factors such as geography and the influence of different religious orders. There is a matching set of seven Sorrows of the Virgin; both sets influenced the selection of scenes in depictions of the Life of the Virgin.

Originally, there were five joys of the Virgin. Later, that number increased to seven, nine, and even fifteen in medieval literature, although seven remained the most common number, and others are rarely found in art. The five joys of Mary are mentioned in the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as a source of Gawain's strength. The devotion was especially popular in pre-Reformation England. The French writer Antoine de la Sale completed a satire called Les Quinze Joies de Mariage ("The Fifteen Joys of Marriage") in about 1462, which partly parodied the form of Les Quinze Joies de Notre Dame ("The Fifteen Joys of Our Lady"), a popular litany.

Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptistae et Evangelistae in Laterano Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput

Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)

 

 

 Façade of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (Rome) by Alessandro Galilei, 1735.

(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Berthold Werner, May 2007)

The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Italian: Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano), commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. 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 Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Ss. 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.

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 archpriest of St. John Lateran is Agostino Vallini, Cardinal Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome. The President of the French Republic, currently Nicolas Sarkozy, 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 St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. For that reason, unlike all other Roman Basilicas, it holds the title of Archbasilica. The cathedral itself is located outside of the Vatican boundaries, within the city of Rome. However it has been granted a special extraterritorial 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.

The President of the French Republic, currently Nicolas Sarkozy, is ex-officio the "first and only honorary canon" of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, a title inherited from the Kings of France, 

who have held it since Henry IV of France

The basilica itself 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 AD 193, 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 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 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 St. Silvester I, eventually becoming the cathedral of Rome, the seat of the popes as bishops of Rome.

 St. Matthew by Camillo Rusconi. 

Nave of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (Rome).

(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Jastrow, September 2007) 

 
The official dedication of the Basilica and the adjacent Lateran Palace was presided over by Pope Sylvester I in 324, 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 rededicated 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, St. John Baptist and St. 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 Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and of Sts. John Baptist and John Evangelist in the Lateran. The church became the most important shrine in honor 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.

 North facade of Saint John Lateran Basilica

From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Fczarnowski, May 2010

 
Every pope from 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 splendor.

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 Cloisters of Saint John Lateran

From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Mac9, October 2005

Eventually, the Palace of the Vatican was built (adjacent to the Basilica of St. 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. Sixtus hired his favorite 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 Thutmose IV before the great Karnak temple of Thebes, Egypt. Intended by 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 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.

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 rumors 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 (illustration, below left) 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 St. Sylvester and the Labarum to Constantine, while on the right St. 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 St. 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 (1878 - 1903) was the last Pope 

not to be entombed in St. Peter's Basilica

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, and it was again restored by Pope Hadrian, but in 897 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 St 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 rebuildings, probably that which was carried out by Clement V, the feature of a transverse nave was introduced, imitated no doubt from the one which had been added, long before this, at Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Probably at this time the church was enlarged.

 

 

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

(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Ern, October 2005)

Some portions of the older buildings still survive. Among them the pavement of medieval Cosmatesque work, and the statues of St. 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.

The Organ at Saint John Lateran
(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by Tango7174, September 2010)

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.

Interior of Saint John Lateran

(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by 

Maros M r a z (Maros), October 2008)

 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 Constantine I had been baptized 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".

Papal Arms of Pope Leo XIII, 

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

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

(From Wikimedia Commons. Author is Odejea, August 2008)

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 St. 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 - 928), Pope Agapetus II (946 - 955), Pope John XII (955- 964), 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).

The Lateran Palace (former residence of the Popes) 

adjoins Saint John Lateran Basilica

(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken, October 2004, 

by Diana on de.wikipedia

John X was the first pope buried within the walls of Rome, granted such a prominent burial due to rumors 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, November 9 is the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (Dedicatio Basilicae Lateranensis), often referred to in older missals as the Dedication of the Basilica of St. 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.

Lenten Station at Saint John Lateran for Palm Sunday

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Palm Sunday
Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint John Lateran
Indulgence of 25 years and 25 Quarantines
Semi-Double
Privilege of the First Class
Violet Vestments

Facade of the Papal Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran

Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptistae 

et Evangelistae in Laterano
Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput

In today's Liturgy, the twofold 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 nineteen centuries 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 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.

 

The nave of San Giovanni in Laterano.

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.

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 ceiling of the Basilica

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 strenghten 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.

 

Choir and Apse of San Giovanni in Laterano

(From Wikimedia Common. Photo taken September 2005 by Stefan Bauer, http://www.ferras.at)

Mass for Palm Sunday

The Blessing of Palms takes place at Saint Mary Major, 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 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.