Today, November 9, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, honoring the “Mother Church” of all Catholic churches. 
While St. Peter’s Basilica is world-famous, it’s not the pope’s cathedral. That honor belongs to the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, consecrated on November 9, 324, by Pope Sylvester I. As the oldest and most important church in the Catholic world, it serves as the pope’s official cathedral and spiritual home.
The basilica holds numerous treasures, including a relic believed to be part of a table used by St. Peter during a Eucharistic meal. 
It also houses the skulls of Saints Peter and Paul, along with the tombs of several popes and saints, making it a living testament to the Church’s early history and tradition.
It also houses the skulls of Saints Peter and Paul, along with the tombs of several popes and saints, making it a living testament to the Church’s early history and tradition.This feast is celebrated throughout the universal Church as an expression of #communion with the See of Peter.
We ask God today to give us grace to build his Church on earth and reach our ultimate dwelling place in the heavenly Jerusalem.
