November 9 is the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John on the Lateran Hill.

November 9 is the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John on the Lateran Hill. Why is a feast for a church in Rome so important? Because, as the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome, it is, therefore the cathedral church of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. It is the first of the four “patriarchal basilicas” in Rome (the others being St. Paul’s Outside- the-Walls, St. Peter’s at the Vatican and St. Mary Major). Its official title is quite long: Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist at the Lateran.