In 2025, instead of the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, this coming Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. 

The Lateran Basilica in Rome is not the oldest church in Rome – that honor seems to belong to Santi Quattro Coronati (314); but then that depends on what sources you believe. Old St. Peter’s, the original church on the spot where the current St. Peter’s stands dates to 324, the same year as St. Lorenzo and St. John Lateran. Did you know that the Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome – the place from where the Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo, leads his diocese even as he leads the church universal.

The Lateran did not even start out as a church – it was a palace on the Lateran Hill that came into the possession of the Emperor Constantine who lifted the ban on Christianity in 313. Sometime later the emperor gifted it to the church and by 324 it was converted to become a church and was declared to be the “mother church” of all Christianity: ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput – of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head.

The Lateran has needed a few repairs over the years. As the Roman Empire fell, the Lateran fell into disrepair. It has been rebuilt, burned down, rebuilt, partially burned, rebuilt and finally evolved into the grand basilica you can visit today in Rome. Perhaps one of the “rebuilding” stories is of most interest to we Franciscans. It is there at the Lateran that Pope Innocent III dreamed of the Lateran falling down but held up by a small, brown robed man –  Francis from Assisi who had just visited the Pope requesting permission to begin a new religious order. The Pope called Francis back to a papal audience and commissioned him to live the gospel life, to preach, and to reconcile. Even today the Franciscans maintain a house dedicated to preaching and sacramental reconciliation at the Lateran.

Before We Begin

The gospel for this feast is paired with a reading from the Prophet Ezekiel, one in which an angel offers the prophet a vision of a temple. The vision starts with the idea of the Jerusalem Temple, but shows something far more magnificent and impactful than the temple built by King Solomon which was already destroyed by the Babylonians. The description of this future temple is described in Ezekiel 40-48 and begins when Ezekiel is taken up in a vision to a high mountain where he sees a future temple, symbolizing God’s restored presence among His people. The main features of the vision are then described in the nine chapters.

In Ezekiel 40-42 the temple structure is revealed to the prophet by a man with a measuring rod who gives him a tour of the layout. There is an emphasis on precise measurements of inner and outer courts, the facing directions of gates (east, north, and south), the sanctuary and Holy of Holies, as well as other chambers. In the light of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people, the precise description conveys a future order and holiness.

The glory of the Lord had occupied the Jerusalem Temple since its dedication by King Solomon, but earlier in his book, Ezekiel described the glory of the Lord leaving the Temple as a precursor to all that would befall the holy city. Now, in Ezekiel 43 the glory of the Lord returns from the east and fills the temple. God declares He will dwell among His people forever but also that this temple vision also serves to remind Israel of their deeds “that they may be ashamed of their sins.” (Ezekiel 43:10)

Chapters 44-46 are a detailed description of Temple worship and associated regulations.

This brings us to the magnificent description of the Temple in Chapter 47 from which is taken our first reading for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.

The angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar. He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side.

He said to me, “This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh. Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.” (Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12)

The overall Temple in Ezekiel is seen as symbolic of spiritual restoration, not just physical rebuilding. It emphasizes holiness, order, and God’s presence. While some see it as a blueprint for a later temple, it is perhaps best seen as a prophetic vision of a future Messianic age.