By Valentine Obienyem
Today, the Church celebrates the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, a feast that goes far beyond the commemoration of a building. During Mass, Fr. Louis Nwobi reminded us that this celebration is about the mystical presence of Christ in His Church and the unity of the faithful under the papal office. In this sense, he explained, the feast of the Lateran Basilica is not just a liturgical observance but a spiritual affirmation of the Church as Christ’s temple on earth, which explains why it can take precedence over the ordinary Sunday liturgy.
Continuing, Fr said that the the Lateran Basilica holds a singular place in the life of the Church. Known as the “mother of all churches in the world”, it is the official cathedral of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. Unlike St. Peter’s Basilica, which is often more famous and attracts countless pilgrims from around the globe, the Lateran is the true ecclesial seat of the papacy. It is here that the Pope’s authority as the shepherd of the universal Church is most formally anchored.
For the sake of students of history, it is important to clarify a common misconception by mischievous minds and half-baked historians that Constantine, and not Christ, founded the Catholic Church. By the time he came onto the scene in the early 4th century, the Church had already seen over thirty Popes guiding the faithful through centuries of persecution. What Constantine did was to provide imperial support to the Church. Among his notable contributions, he donated the Lateran Palace to the Bishop of Rome, enabling the construction of the Lateran Basilica – the cathedral that became the official seat of the Pope. He also enacted laws that exempted Church property from taxation, strengthening the Church’s independence and resources. This is the reason why Churches till today do not pay taxes.
Visiting the basilica in 2022 and 2023, one cannot help but be struck by its grandeur and profound symbolism. Along the nave walls are framed portraits of all the Popes, from St. Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, and surely updated today to include Pope Francis. Each portrait serves as a vivid reminder of the continuity of the apostolic succession and the faithfulness of the Church through centuries of trial, triumph, and transformation.
Rome, often called the city of basilicas, is adorned with churches of immense historical and spiritual significance. There are four Major Basilicas- the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore). These four enjoy special papal status and are directly associated with the universal Church. Beyond them, Rome boasts numerous Minor Basilicas.
Each of these four great basilicas has its own feast of dedication, though only the Lateran’s is celebrated universally across the Catholic world. The Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul share a joint feast on 18 November, recalling the consecration of the two great churches built over the tombs of the Apostles who sealed their faith with martyrdom in Rome. The Basilica of St. Mary Major, the foremost Marian church in Christendom, is celebrated on August 15.
The readings of the day harmonise beautifully with the theme of dedication and sacred space. The first reading, from Ezekiel, describes water flowing from the Temple toward the East – an image rich in symbolism. This sacred stream signifies the life-giving presence of God, flowing from His dwelling to renew and sanctify creation.
This imagery naturally led my mind to wander beyond Christendom to Islam. In the early days of Islam, out of respect for the Jews and a desire to build spiritual connections, Muslims initially prayed facing Jerusalem, toward the Temple Mount. Later, following a revelation to Prophet Muhammad, the direction of prayer- qibla – was changed to Mecca. Today, every mosque is oriented toward the qibla, symbolically uniting the faithful in prayer. Historically, however, the original orientation toward Jerusalem, specifically the Dome of the Rock, reflects the profound connection among the Abrahamic faiths, and it is believed by Moslems to be the site from which Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven. This shared reverence for sacred direction underscores how God’s presence has been central to both worship and the construction of sacred spaces across religions.
Whatever differing views history may offer, Muhammad remains one of the most remarkable figures in religious history. It was he who decisively changed the direction of Muslim prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca, uniting his followers under a single spiritual focus. When Muhammad began his mission, Arabia was a desert flotsam of idolatrous tribes; yet by the time of his death, it had become a unified nation.
The Dome of the Rock, Islam’s holiest shrine after Mecca and Medina, now stands on the very site of the Second Temple, the same Temple where, according to the New Testament, Christ drove out the money changers. After the Romans destroyed that Temple, Islamic rulers later built mosques on the sacred site, transforming it into one of the world’s most revered and contested spaces – a place where the histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam converge.
If today Christ were to enter any of our churches, one wonders what His reaction would be. Whom would He drive away? Surely, He would drive away many whose aim in building churches is commercial gain. He would drive out those who have turned His Father’s house into a marketplace of miracles and merchandising. And yes, He would rebuke those who sit idly in church pews on a Tuesday morning when they ought to be at work, mistaking pious indolence for holiness. His righteous anger would once again cleanse the temple, calling His followers back to sincerity of faith and integrity of life.
Following the destruction of the Temple, the Jews never rebuilt it till date for several profound reasons. Politically, Jerusalem came under successive foreign dominations – Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic – each of which made reconstruction impossible. Religiously, Jewish law itself forbids the rebuilding of the Temple until the coming of the Messiah, for the site is too sacred to be desecrated by human initiative. And historically, centuries of exile and dispersion prevented the Jewish people from undertaking such a monumental task.
Today, the only surviving remnant of that Temple is the Western Wall, a retaining wall that once supported the Temple Mount. It remains one of the holiest places in Judaism, a tangible link to the faith of their ancestors and a symbol of divine presence amid human loss. Jews and pilgrims from all over the world (including this writer) gather there to pray, inserting written petitions into its ancient stones. The petitions, are collected twice every year and buried reverently.
Thus, when the Church celebrates the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, she invites us to reflect not merely on a physical building, but on the enduring truth that God’s true dwelling is among His people. Do you know this song: “Behold Among Men”? Just as the Temple once symbolised divine presence in Jerusalem, so too does the Lateran Basilica, the mother of all churches, symbolise the unity of Christians under the leadership of the Bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter.
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