Lateran Basilisca Indulgence

In the Manuel of Indulgences, under Grant 33 for “Visiting Sacred Places” there are certain days and occasions that apply to certain locations. One particular occasion I had a hard time researching was the “dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior.”

To paraphrase, this is what the Manuel of Indulgences says about it. ‘A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who visit, and there devoutly recite an Our Father and the Creed, *[a] cathedral church,

d. on the dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior.’

Common knowledge of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior tells us that this Archbasilica is the Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Rome in the city of Rome, Italy and that it is one of the Major Papal Basiliscas in Rome. This makes it a popular pilgrimage destination, and a true spiritual and architectural gem of the Catholic Faith. If you are familiar with your Missal you may also know that this Archbasilica is celebrated liturgically. It’s feast day is November 9th. If you have this common knowledge you can easily do the indulgence work above. Simply speaking, all you have to is ‘visit’ any cathedral church on November 9th.

If, however, you are like me and you have not heard much of this Archbasilica, you may find that researching this gem of the faith and it’s feast day is a little difficult. The main reason for this is that the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior does not always go by this name. And, if you don’t know a good name to look up, it is difficult to find a correct feast day.

Today this Archbasilica is more commonly referred to by the names Lateran Basilisca or [Archbasilica of] Saint John Lateran. But even those names are not the full name of this locations. The official name of this building is “Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World.”

To explain how this extended name came about, I’d like to go into the history of this building. Please note that, from here on, none of this additional information is necessary for this indulgence work. It is only to explain why, if you research/google “dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior,” you would seem to get information that appears different or irrelevant, escpecially due to different names, dates, etc.

To start off, let us examine different building titles. A church building is called a "cathedral" if it has the local Bishop's chair (called a "cathedra"). This building is a special "cathedral" because it holds the chair of the Bishop of Rome (aka. the chair of the Pope). A church building is called a "basilica" if it has been given that honorary title by the Pope, usually for liturgical, historical, or architectural importance. This building is called, not just a "basilica" because of it’s importance, but it is more formally called an "Archbasilica" because it serves the Pope and the Catholic Church at large. It rise above any and all other basilica that the Church has and it is the only “Archbasilica” in existence, making it truly one of a kind. Lastly, a Metropolitan is a title given either to a location or an archbishop which indicates the position as an overseer of other, usually local, diocese. In this case, this Archbasilica is a sort of overseer of all other basilicas, just as it’s Bishop of Rome (the Pope) is overseer of all other bishops.

When it comes to this particular Rome-based building, it is (and may be referred to by) all of these titles. It is a cathedral, a metropolitan, a basilica, and an archbasilica. This is the first thing that I initially found confusing because I didn’t know that a building could be under more than one of these titles.

The next confusing thing about this building is it’s multiple dedications. Originally the property that the Archbasilica was built on belonged to the Roman empire. In 313 Emperor Constantine the Great gifted the property, and the building on it which is commonly known today as ‘Lateran Palace’, to Pope Miltiades. The archbasilica was founded in 324, and it was at this time that this building and the adjacent ‘palace’ were first dedicated as "House of God" to “Christ the Savior,” now by Pope Sylvester I.

The archbasilica and Lateran Palace were later re-dedicated twice. Next by Pope Sergius III, in honor of Saint John the Baptist in the 10th century. Then by Pope Lucius II, who dedicated them in honor of John the Evangelist in the 12th century. Because of these dedications, Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist are co-patrons of the archbasilica and now are included within the building’s name. However the primary Titular still remains ‘Christ the Savior.’ The archbasilica’s titular feast, in honor of Christ the Savior, is the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ on August 6th. Yet, since the 12th century the anniversary of the dedication of the church itself has been observed as a feast too. In the General Roman Calendar, November 9th is the feast of the Dedication of the (Arch)Basilica of the Lateran, or the “Dedication of the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior" as it is referred to in older texts.

So that is a brief history and terminology lesson on the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior. I hope this has been helpful. Indulgences can be a confusing topic (especially when names and dates are unfamiliar to you) so please feel free to leave your thoughts and questions.