This morning, at 9.30, in the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, Leo XIV presided over the Eucharistic Celebration for the Solemnity of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, cathedral of Rome and “Mother of all Churches”. During the homily, the Pope retraced the origins of this symbolic place of Christianity, whose construction dates back to the 4th century by will of the Emperor Constantine and to the consecration by Pope Sylvester I. «This Basilica – he recalled – is much more than a monument or a historical memory: it is a sign of the living Church, built with chosen and precious stones in Christ Jesus».
The foundations of faith
The Pontiff invited the faithful to reflect on the profound meaning of the “foundations” of the temple, as an image of Christian life. «Whoever builds without digging deeply risks collapse. So we too, workers of the living Church, must eliminate everything that is unstable to reach the bare rock of Christ”, he explained, quoting Saint Paul: “No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is already found there, which is Jesus Christ”. Leo The thousand-year history of the Church teaches that only with humility and patience can a true community of faith be built.”
Zacchaeus and the path of conversion
Recalling the Gospel of the day, the Pope indicated the figure of Zacchaeus as an example of someone who puts himself on the line to meet Christ: «Climbing the tree – he said – means recognizing one’s limits and overcoming pride. Only in this way is a new life born.” From that meeting, he added, “Jesus changes us and calls us to work in God’s great construction site”. This is the heart of the image so dear to the Pontiff: the Church as an open construction site, where we grow in the sharing of charisms and in comparison, even in the face of hardship and difficulty. «We must not be discouraged – he urged – but continue to work with confidence, to grow together».
A mother Church
The Pope then recalled the trials that the Lateran Basilica has undergone over the centuries: “This building too has experienced crises and interruptions, but thanks to the tenacity of those who preceded us we can gather today in this wonderful place.” And he added in a paternal tone: «The charity lived shapes the face of the Church, so that it appears ever more clearly as a mother, mother of all the Churches, or even “mother”, as Saint John Paul II liked to say».
The liturgy, source and summit of Christian life
In the final part of the homily, Leo XIV underlined the value of the liturgy, “the culmination towards which the action of the Church tends and the source from which all its energy emanates”. It, he said, “is the place where we are built up as the temple of God and receive strength to preach Christ in the world.” The Pontiff hoped that the liturgy celebrated in the Cathedral of Rome would be a model for all the people of God, “in fidelity to the Roman tradition and in the solemn sobriety that does so much good to souls”. Quoting Saint Augustine, he concluded: «Beauty is nothing but love, and love is life. May those who approach the Altar of the Cathedral be able to leave full of that grace with which the Lord wants to flood the world.”
