A deeper look at St. John Lateran

The Basilica of St. John Lateran is one of the four major basilicas visited by all pilgrims coming to Rome. It is considered the mother church of all the Catholic churches in the world. St. John Lateran was the first Catholic Church built in the Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine in 324 AD. The official name is the Papal Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Sts. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran, but for ease of use in language it is simply called, St. John Lateran. 

Soon after the church was built, a papal complex was built around it. This is where the popes resided from the 4th century to the 14th century. This is also why St. John Lateran is called the “Pope’s Cathedral” and not St. Peter’s Basilica which was built afterward. It was from the loggia (balcony) here that Pope Boniface VIII declared the first Jubilee Year of 1300. It was here that St. Francis came with a group of his brothers to petition the pope to start a new order called Franciscans.  

St. John Lateran has gone through many major renovations throughout the years, with the most recent being in the 17th century. However, there are still features in this church that date much earlier. Let us examine one of its most striking features, the beautiful mosaic apse.  

This mosaic shown here is in two semicircular sections. The upper section is from the 4th century and depicts one of the oldest public images of Christ. It became the model for later representations. The lower section, on the gold background, is from the 6th century. You might notice the two smaller Franciscans, St. Francis and St. Anthony amid the larger saints. They were added in the 13th century along with the pope Nicholas VI.  

In the middle you see the image of Jesus on top with the Holy Spirit coming down upon the jeweled cross. It is through the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ that the Holy Spirit comes to us through baptism. The waters of baptism flow from the cross in four different streams. This is a reference to Genesis 2:10, “A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.”  

You should also notice the deer are not just random background animals. They are about to drink from the stream, to be quenched of their thirst, which is a reference to Psalm 42:1, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you my God.” Also notice the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. This comes from Matthew 25:31-33, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”  

The message is clear to all those in attendance in the pope’s cathedral: it is only through Jesus Christ that the gift of the Holy Spirit, through the waters of baptism, can be given to quench your thirst and sustain you until you are counted among the sheep and are invited to enter into eternal life with Jesus in heaven.