Feast of Saint John Lateran, Our Home Away From Home

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Feast of Saint John Lateran. The Church highlights a building and not a person today! The Basilica of Saint John Lateran was constructed by none other than Constantine himself after his conversion to Christianity. (No, he did not do this to meld pagan religion with Christianity, nor was this the beginning of the downfall of the Church)The property was from the Lateran family and hence the name Lateran became associated with it. It was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist. It was the residence of the papacy until the 15th century but is still the pope's main church because it is the official cathedral of the diocese of Rome and every sitting pope is the bishop of Rome. This basilica is the home church of every Catholic in the world. If you go to mass here, feel free to come in and make yourself at home. THIS IS YOUR HOME CHURCH!
    Thus this building is  physical evidence of the presence of the Catholic faith as far back as the fourth century! Before this time, Christianity was outlawed and the Church was persecuted  and there are only a few archaeological physical evidences of Christian worship from before that time.
  A long time fan of Crossed the Tiber, Rodrigo and his family sent me video and pics from Saint John the Lateran including the first 10 minutes of Mass. Check them out and thank the Lord for your Church today!  Thanks Rodrigo!
To learn more about this beautiful basilica go here

   These are the actual steps Christ walked up to the praetorium before his passion, brought from Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helena, Constantine's mother.