Tell me more about the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

[benedictgal]

But was it celebrated outside of the basilica, or the Archdiocese of Rome?

Apparently it wasn’t one of the top 80 or so feasts of note in England in the 7th Century (see list at bottom of that page).

I did find that the dedication was celebrated in 1954 as a double of the second class, and in 1570 as a double, but I haven’t laid eyes on anything between the 7th and 16th Centuries.

Other possibly relevant links I found…
Domus Ecclesiae on the Title of Minor Basilica (1989)

General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar (1974)
From that last, I readand from later queries,andI provided those lengthy cites because I’m a bit confused as to where this feast fits in the ranking. It sounds like its precedence may be of the 4th rank, that of a proper solemnity. Is the “dedication of a particular church” referring to dedication of my local church building or parish, or only such dedications celebrated universally in the Latin Church (if so what others are there?), or dedication of entire churches sui iuris?

Based on this page, it sounds like the first is true. But the author also suggests it is a feast rather than a solemnity. If so, wouldn’t it rank below that of the Ordinary Sunday?

But, the fact that in the Universal Church, the dedication of the Lateran Basilica is seen as a universal feast should tell you something. This is no ordinary church we’re talking about here. As I noted in my previous post, this was the first church established freely in Rome. This was the first Church were the faithful could worship God publicly without fear of persecution.

This is also the cathedral of the Holy Father. This is the cathedral where his cathedra is. This cathedra is where he has issued dogmatic proclamations. It is the mother of all of the churches of Rome and of the entire Christian world.

Furthermore, this is not a minor basilica. It is a major one in every sense of the word.

 

[TheDoctor]

During the Homily on Sunday, the Deacon mentioned the inscription over the main door of the Church which identified it as the “mother of all churches”. I was not sure I heard him correctly so I ooked it up and found this which is said to be inscribed over the main door:
Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput - "Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head
To the OP - I think this says in a way I can never do why it is so important that it has it’s own feast - it is the link in tradition between the Church worshipping in the shadows and the Church going forth to proclaim the good news in public.

Other’s have said it better, just my $0.02

 

[FrDavid96]

…

it sounds like the first is true. But the author also suggests it is a feast rather than a solemnity. If so, wouldn’t it rank below that of the Ordinary Sunday?

Very interresting topic.

“Particular Church” actually refers to what we usually call the Diocese. It can be confusing sometimes, because our mind reads the words and we tend to thing that means the parish or the actual building.

The general calendar lists it as a “Feast”

My personal take on the matter is that it might come under #5 “Feasts of the Lord in the General Calendar” because the proper title is “Archbasilica of the Holy Savior”

Just thinking out loud here. I’ve been going over the table of days, and in truth, I can’t realy find where exactly it would be. The above is just my “best guess.”

 

[Digitonomy]

Well, most churches DO have special celebrations on the feast day of whichever saint they are named after for one.

That I’ll grant. But if you attend mass at say Immaculate Conception parish, and they dedicated the church in February 1955, odds are the parish won’t have any special events in February related to it.

LilyM:

But your statement doesn’t really hold true - the Pope, Vicar of Christ, doesn’t have HIS seat… in your local Church or your local Cathedral, now does he?

So there’s no direct link between your church building and my church building in the sense that there is between ALL church buildings in the world and St John Lateran, the mother church of Catholicism.

I’m confused by your post, and not sure which statement of mine you’re calling inaccurate…

Digitonomy:

Most of the previous posts had emphasized the idea that it was our parish in a sense, and symbolized our communion with the pope - in theory those points would also apply to our local parish and bishop/cathedral, yet you rarely see such celebrations in this country.

No, the pope doesn’t have his cathedra in my local church. Neither does the bishop. But the buildings where these are located both have importance as the founding structures of the public Latin Church and my local diocese, respectively. Yet the dedication of only one is commemorated at my church.

 

[Digitonomy]

Very interresting topic.

“Particular Church” actually refers to what we usually call the Diocese. It can be confusing sometimes, because our mind reads the words and we tend to thing that means the parish or the actual building.

In that case, is tomorrow automatically a proper solemnity for the parishes in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, or would that have to be proclaimed by the bishop? And if proclaimed, must that be renewed yearly, or is it a solemnity until proven otherwise? And if the dedication happened to take place on November 9, its commemoration would then outrank that of St John Lateran. Interesting.

FrDavid96:

The general calendar lists it as a “Feast”

My personal take on the matter is that it might come under #5 “Feasts of the Lord in the General Calendar” because the proper title is “Archbasilica of the Holy Savior”

That makes sense - now I realize that’s what the author of my last link in post #18 was trying to say. But you’re right it’s a bit odd to classify it as such, since it commemorates the dedication of a building, not so much the patron of that building - exactly the point you were making in post #4.

 

[FrDavid96]

That I’ll grant. But if you attend mass at say Immaculate Conception parish, and they dedicated the church in February 1955, odds are the parish won’t have any special events in February related to it.I’m confused by your post, and not sure which statement of mine you’re calling inaccurate…No, the pope doesn’t have his cathedra in my local church. Neither does the bishop. But the buildings where these are located both have importance as the founding structures of the public Latin Church and my local diocese, respectively. Yet the dedication of only one is commemorated at my church.

Actually, the anniversary of the dedication of the local cathedral MAY be celebrated in the local parish. The bishop has [some] authority to mandate this.

It gets a little complicated. If the anniversary is on a weekday in Ordinary Time, the priest has the option of choosing from (almost) any Mass. He could choose to do the “Common Mass” for the “Decication of a Church” as a sign of unity in the diocese.

If it happens on a Sunday that year, it’s generally not to be done, but the bishop might be able to mandate it for a good reason (say it’s the 200 anniversary of the dedication and he wants to emphasize it). I say might.

You might want to ask your parish priest just what he does on the anniversary of your own cathedral. Perhaps it is being commemorated. Don’t know. Wouldn’t hurt to ask.

 

[Digitonomy]

Actually, the anniversary of the dedication of the local cathedral MAY be celebrated in the local parish. The bishop has [some] authority to mandate this.

It gets a little complicated. If the anniversary is on a weekday in Ordinary Time, the priest has the option of choosing from (almost) any Mass. He could choose to do the “Common Mass” for the “Decication of a Church” as a sign of unity in the diocese.

If it happens on a Sunday that year, it’s generally not to be done, but the bishop might be able to mandate it for a good reason (say it’s the 200 anniversary of the dedication and he wants to emphasize it). I say might.

You might want to ask your parish priest just what he does on the anniversary of your own cathedral. Perhaps it is being commemorated. Don’t know. Wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Just to clarify, I was talking about
4.b. Solemnity of the dedication of a particular church (diocese) and the anniversary,

rather than

1. Proper feasts, namely…
   
   b. Feast of the anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral.

Not sure if that affects anything you said.