The Basilica of the Holy Saviour (324)

This marks the day, in 324, when the great Pope Sylvester consecrated this church to Our Lord. It is one of the seven great churches of Rome. Since the twelfth century it has been called the Basilica of Saint John Lateran because it has been also especially dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, under whose patronage the baptistery of this church was placed. It is the major church of the Holy Father, the Pope. The heads of Saint Peter and Saint Paul are kept in it. It is called in an inscription on its walls, “The Mother and the Head of All Churches of this City and the World.”

Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran, photo by Livioandronico2013 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons