St Paul Outside the Walls

Source

In this article, we conclude our series on Papal Basilicas with a look at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. The name of this Basilica is interesting. The first part, “St. Paul’s”, is straightforward. This Basilica was built to honour St. Paul and houses his physical remains, which are found in a sarcophagus beneath the altar. For almost 2000 years, this sarcophagus was hidden from view. Just after the Jubilee in 2000, the area under the altar was excavated in order to expose the sarcophagus. At this time, it was not opened, so we are not sure what is inside. However, long tradition has it that St. Paul’s body is inside, with the exception of his head, which according to another tradition is in St. John Lateran. The second part of the Basilica’s name, “Outside the Walls”, is less clear. Ultimately, it means that this Basilica was built outside the walls of the ancient city of Rome. The reason for this is that in ancient Rome bodies were not buried within the city limits. The city was for the living. The dead needed to be deposited in their own place, called a necropolis, which literally means “city of the dead”. For example, the place where St. Peter’s Basilica now stands was originally a necropolis in which St. Peter was buried. Though today St. Peter’s seems like a part of Rome, 2000 years ago this was considered outside the city limits since it was on the other side of the Tiber river. Similar to St. Peter, St. Paul was buried close to where he was martyred in a place specially designated for the dead outside the city boundaries. In the 4th century, Constantine build a Basilica over St. Paul’s burial place. Since this was outside the city walls, the name stuck.

The Basilica built by Constantine was soon expanded by Theodosius in the year 386. This structure remained substantially unchanged for almost 1500 years. For centuries, it was the only Papal Basilica that had maintained its ancient design as the others were significantly altered, or, in the case of St. Peter’s, completely rebuilt. In 1823, however, a worker fixing the roof of St. Paul’s set a fire which almost completely destroyed the building. Pope Leo XII ordered that the Basilica be rebuilt according to its original design, utilizing as many elements that had survived the fire as possible. This is why when visiting St. Paul’s one gets the feeling that one is in an ancient Roman Basilica, even though the structure itself is relatively recent. In addition to housing the body of St. Paul, the Basilica also is home to magnificent mosaics, notably the mosaic of Christ over the triumphal arch, which survived the fire and dates from the 5th century. A detail of the Basilica that is popular among pilgrims is the series of mosaics showing each of the Popes, which wraps around the Basilica’s interior. The translucent alabaster windows further enhance the space’s beauty.  This Basilica is truly a wonderful place to visit and contemplate the life of St. Paul the Apostle, who was beheaded just a few kilometers away.

Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Maria Maggiore (Pic Source)

In this column, we continue our series on the Papal Basilicas with a church that is dear to the heart of Pope Francis: Santa Maria Maggiore. Before and after each apostolic journey, our Holy Father arrives at this Basilica to lay a bouquet of flowers before an image of Our Lady, asking her intercession for a safe journey and a successful mission. Although various modifications have been made to the Basilica over the years, the core of the structure dates back to the early 5th c., making Santa Maria Maggiore perhaps the oldest church in the world that is dedicated to Our Lady.

Another title given to this Basilica is “Our Lady of the Snows”. This name derives from a legend that surrounds the initial building of the Church. In one version of the story, the Basilica was built on the site upon which snow miraculously fell during the height of the Roman summer, on August 5th. On this date, the Universal Church continues to celebrate the dedication of this ancient Church. During the ceremony each year that occurs in the Basilica itself, there is a very interesting custom. In the special Mass, during the Gloria, one of the ceiling panels above the altar is opened and white flower petals are released, cascading upon the congregants below. This is done to call to mind the snow that was reported to have fallen when construction on the Basilica began some 1500 years ago. After the Mass is completed, those who were at the Mass hurry to try to take some of the flower petals as a special souvenir! Another special, annual celebration that occurs at Santa Maria Maggiore is the Eucharistic Procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi. This procession begins at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. From there, the Holy Father accompanies a Monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament along Via Merulana as far as Santa Maria Maggiore. There, the Pope gives the people a Benediction from the porch of the Basilica.

In addition to its long history, the Basilica is significant because of the art and relics found within. The Church is covered with many beautiful mosaics, some of which date from the 5th c. and were probably commissioned to celebrate Mary having been officially recognized with the title “Theotokos” or “God Bearer” at the Council of Ephesus in 431. At this Council, Mary was given this appellation in order to defend our belief in Jesus. Since we believe that Jesus was, from his conception, true God and true man, the child that Mary of Nazareth gave birth to was indeed God, making her the bearer of the Divine. In one of the side chapels is found the image of Our Lady called  Salus Populi Romani”. It is this image which Pope Francis normally visits before each major trip and is a particular object of devotion for the people of Rome. Finally, under the main altar is found a reliquary which contains wood that is believed to be from the crib in which Jesus was laid after his birth. This relic was brought to the Basilica sometime in the 6th c.

Each year, on August 5th, the entire Church celebrates the Feast of this great and important Basilica.

St. John Lateran

In our last article, we tried to answer the question, “what is a Papal Basilica?” We will now investigate a very important Papal Basilica. Here is a hint as to its identity: it is the Cathedral of the Pope and the Diocese of Rome. In every Diocese, there is a special church which is called the Cathedral because it has in it the cathedra (latin for “chair”) of the Bishop. Each Cathedral, therefore, is associated in a special way with the Bishop of that Diocese; it is like his headquarters. As well, the Cathedral is a special sign of unity for the Diocese. People often assume that the Pope’s Cathedral is St. Peter’s since he spends much of his time there. In fact, the Pope’s Cathedral is St. John Lateran. Because it is the Cathedral of the the Diocese of Rome, this Basilica is sometimes called the “mother church” of all the world.

Photo: Livioandronico2013 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The land on which St. John Lateran sits was given by Constantine to the Pope (probably Pope Miltiades) in the year 313. The building that we see today, which is the end result of many renovations over the years, is truly impressive. What perhaps strikes me most about this building are the enormous statues of the Apostles that flank the two sides of the nave. As a visitor walks through the Basilica, these imposing statues, which were created in the 18th century, make quite an impression. If you were to take a tour of the Basilica, a question often asked is, “which St. John is the Basilica named after?” The group is then usually divided as to whether it is named after St. John the Baptist or St. John the Evangelist. In fact, it is a bit of a trick question. The original and primary patron of the Basilica is “Christ the Saviour”.  Hundreds of years later, in the 10th century, the Basilica was also dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Then, in the 12th century, the Basilica was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. Therefore, the main patron of the Basilica is Jesus and its two other co-patrons are St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.

From the year 313, every Pope lived beside the Basilica in the Lateran Palace until Pope Clement V transferred the Papacy to Avignon in 1307. While the Popes were in Avignon, two fires greatly damaged the Basilica and the Palace. When Pope Gregory XI finally moved back from Avignon to Rome in 1377, the Lateran Palace was deemed to run-down to live in. Instead, the Popes lived for a time at St. Mary in Trastevere and then at St. Mary Major. After some years, the Papal Palace beside St. Peter’s was constructed and it became the official residence of the Popes. Pope Francis changed this practice as he chose to live in Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guesthouse located a few hundred meters from the Papal Palace.

On November 9th, the entire Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran.