Lateran Basilica

The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran is the Cathedral of Rome and serves as the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Dedicated to Christ the Savior, in honor of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, the place name –Lateran –comes from the ancient Roman Laterani family whose grounds occupied the site. The adjacent Lateran Palace was the primary residence of the pope until the Middle Ages.

The Basilica is the oldest and highest ranking of the four major papal basilicas, and it is one of the seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. It is the oldest public church in Rome, and the oldest basilica in the Western world. It houses the cathedra (chair) of the Pope. The building deteriorated during the Middle Ages and was badly damaged by two fires in the 14th century. It was rebuilt in the late 16th century. The interior was renovated in the late 17th century, and its façade was completed in 1735.

The Laterani property was given to the Bishop of Rome by Constantine the Great in 313  and eventually became the Cathedral of Rome. On the archbasilica's façade between is a plaque inscribed with the words SACROS LATERAN ECCLES OMNIUM VRBIS ET ORBIS ECCLESIARVM MATER ET CAPUT ("Most Holy Lateran Church, mother and head of all the churches in the city and the world"); a visible indication of the declaration that the basilica is the "mother church" of all the world.

During the Second World War, the Lateran and its related buildings were used under Pope Pius XII as a safe haven from the Nazis and Italian Fascists for numbers of Jews and other refugees.