Dedication of the Church of the Savior

But whatever zeal the prelates may have had, in the first three centuries of the Church, to increase the number of these oratories, as they saw them exposed every day to being demolished and burned by the infidels, and as they were often forced to abandon them to withdraw into cellars and underground caves, in order to perform the exercises of religion there with more peace and safety, they did not yet consecrate them with that great number of ceremonies which, since then, have been instituted by the Sovereign Pontiffs. This manner of consecration only began under the empire of Constantine the Great (306-337). This prince, whom heaven had chosen to make Christianity reign in the world, having made himself a servant of Jesus Christ at the same time that Jesus Christ made him master and sovereign of the whole earth, wished to signal his zeal by the construction of several magnificent churches, and the first was that of Saint Savior in Rome, on the Caelian Hill, in his Lateran palace. This palace had formerly belonged to Plantius Lateranus, a Roman consul, whom Nero had put to death on an accusation of having attempted his life and conspired against the Empire; since then, Fausta, daughter of Maximian-Herculius, had lived there, and it is likely that it had become the property of the emperors through the confiscation that had been made of it at the death of Lateranus. Cardinal Baronius believes that Constantine had also given it, as early as the year 313, to Pope Saint Melchiades and his successors to serve as their dwelling; indeed, this Pope celebrated a Council there that same year against the Donatists, and, since that time, the other Popes have always been in possession of it. Be that as it may, in the year 334, this pious emperor had a baptistery built there at the place where he himself had been baptized by Saint Sylvester, and a basilica to serve the Pope basilique pour servir au Pape d'église patriarcale The cathedral of Rome and the mother of all churches in the world. as a patriarchal and pontifical church, and to be the head and mother of all the Churches in the world. Here is how Cardinal Saint Peter Damian speaks of it, in his epistle to the cardinals of the holy Roman Church: "As the Lateran church bears the name of the Savior who is the head of the elect, so it is the mother and, so to speak, the head and summit of all the churches that are in the world." And, in his letter to Cadaloüs, a schismatic: "This church which was built in honor of the Savior and which was made the first and highest seat of the Christian religion, is so to speak the Church of churches and the Holy of holies; it is as if in the middle of the two churches of Saint Peter and Saint Paul which are like its daughters and its members, and with its two arms it embraces all the rest of the churches of the world and unites them in its bosom as in an indivisible center of unity." It has been given various names, besides that of the Lateran basilica: 1st It has been called the basilica of Fausta, because it had effectively been the palace of Fausta, as we have already said; 2nd the Constantinian basilica, because Constantine had it built and had founded a clergy to perform ecclesiastical functions there; 3rd the basilica of Saint John, because of two chapels that were built in the baptistery, one in honor of Saint John the Baptist, the other in honor of Saint John the Evangelist; 4th the basilica of Julius, either because some Roman lord, named Julius, lived there between the consul Lateranus and the princess Fausta, or because Pope Julius, who succeeded Saint Sylvester, made considerable additions to it which obliged it to be given his name. But the principal and most ordinary name is that of the basilica of Saint Savior, with which this church is honored, 1st because Our Lord being the head of all the Saints and the one from whom all holiness derives, it was very reasonable that his name should be given to the church which was to be the mother of all the others and the capital of the whole Christian world; 2nd because the image of the Savior appeared there miraculously depicted on the wall, in the sight of all the Roman people.

This church having been built and the Emperor Constantine having enriched it with many precious vessels and ornaments for the celebration of the holy Mysteri es, Pope Saint Sylve pape saint Sylvestre 33rd pope of the Catholic Church, known for having baptized Constantine. ster (314-336), who had then been governing the vessel of Saint Peter for ten years, performed its dedication with great majesty. At the same time, he ordered that the august sacrifice of the Mass should no longer be offered except upon stone altars; and yet, as there was in Rome a wooden altar, hollowed out in the shape of a chest, upon which Saint Peter and the other Popes, his successors, had always consecrated (because, during the persecutions, it was much easier to transport than a stone altar), he had it placed in this Lateran basilica, and nevertheless decreed that no other priest should ever say Mass there except the Sovereign Pontiff: a practice which has been observed to this day. Moreover, it is with good reason that all Christians celebrate the dedication or consecration of this church; for it must not be considered as a particular church of the city of Rome, but regarded as the mother-church of the entire world; as the metropolitan, the patriarchal, and the capital of all Christendom; as the church of all those who live in union with the Holy See and who recognize the Sovereign Pontiff as their pastor and their father. It is no less our church than each parish is the church of all the parishioners, and each cathedral the church of all the diocesans, and we may say that it is even much more, since one can absolutely change parish and diocese, and it is impossible to be a Christian and not depend on the first See, which is that of the Pontiff of Rome. If, therefore, the dedication of the parish church or the cathedral church is celebrated with solemnity in every parish and every diocese, it is very reasonable that the feast of the dedication of this pontifical church of the Most Holy Savior should be celebrated throughout all of Christendom.

This is the place to treat, in a few words, of the august ceremonies which are performed in these kinds of solemnities. Eusebius of Caesarea, who lived under the empire of Constantine the Great, speaking in his History of several other churches that were dedicated in his time, says that the bishops assembled for their dedication; that an immense concourse of princes, lords, magistrates, and peoples took place there; that the prelates offered the unbloody sacrifice and preached in turn, some to extol the power of Jesus Christ and the merit of the Martyrs; others to explain the points of faith and the dogmas of theology; some to interpret the Holy Scriptures and discover their hidden treasures; others to develop the mysteries contained in the actions of the consecrating pontiff and the ministers who accompanied him; finally, that one saw there "august and divine ceremonies, profound and divine ministries." Saint Athanasius, Saint Basil, Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Augustine, in the places marked by Cardinal Bellarmine, also represent the dedication of churches as one of the most beautiful and striking functions of episcopal power. And certainly, if the tabernacle of Moses, the temple of Solomon, and the new temple built by Zerubbabel were dedicated with that great number of sacred observances which are described to us in the Old Testament, although they were destined only for those sacrifices which Saint Paul calls "shadows," "figures," and "weak and beggarly elements"; how much more just was it that our churches, where Jesus Christ himself is sacrificed, and where he subsequently dwells perpetually with us; where we receive the life of grace through baptism and penance; where we are nourished with the heavenly bread through the sacrament of the Eucharist; where we are enlightened by the great truths of the faith through homilies, catechisms, and sermons, and where we perform the function of the angels through the continual singing of the praises of God; that our churches, we say, should be sanctified and distinguished from profane houses by a series of holy and religious ceremonies. Nature itself seems to teach us that it had to be done this way, since it dictates to us that holy things must be treated holily, and that not all kinds of places are suitable for exercising them with decency.

Moreover, our holy pontiffs perform no ceremony in this that does not have a wonderful relation to the end they propose: which is to dedicate these edifices to the worship of God. For, first, they knock at the door with their pastoral staff, they perform exorcisms there, and they invoke the angels and the Saints to drive out the demons and to attract the protection and even the presence of the blessed spirits. Then they imprint the Greek and Latin alphabet upon the ashes, to mark the holy and evangelical instruction that the faithful must receive there, and to which these two languages have mainly served. Furthermore, they mix together water, ash, and wine, to signify that it is through humility and contrition of heart, and through a strong and vigorous prudence, that we render ourselves pleasing to God and worthy to approach his altars. They sprinkle all the places with holy water and perfume them with incense, to banish all kinds of filth from them, and to teach us that we must enter them only with a pure heart, and perform only holy and religious actions there. They form crosses, anointing and lighting them with lit torches, because the Church is entirely destined for the mystery of the Cross, represented in the Eucharist; that Christians must know it, esteem it, taste it, and place their greatest glory in it, and that they are perfect Christians only by joyfully bearing in their bodies the mortification of Jesus Christ. Finally, they consecrate altars by anointings, incensings, illuminations, and blessings, and by placing relics of the Saints there, because the Son of God, figured by the altars, is par excellence the Lord's anointed, the good odor of the Church, the light of the world, and the source of all blessing, and that he has no seat more agreeable than the sacred remains of the Martyrs.

Moreover, we have in these ceremonies of dedication a perfect image of what Our Lord does in order to draw a soul from infidelity and sin, and to make it enter into the ways of justice and perfection. He knocks at the door of its heart through the first movements of grace which inspire its conversion. He opens it through the salutary fear of his judgments and the terrible punishments of the other life. He writes a double alphabet there by making it know, through faith, his perfections and his benefits, and the mysteries of his divinity and his humanity. He exorcises it through the preparations of the sacraments. He washes it in baptism or in penance. He imprints the cross upon it, he anoints it and enlightens it through confirmation or through the sweet meditation of his wounds. He mixes water and ash there, by giving it sentiments of compunction, austerity, and mortification. He joins salt and wine there, by communicating to it a discreet fervor and an ardent and zealous prudence. Finally, he consecrates an altar there, by making of its heart a living altar, where it continually immolates its passions and disordered affections, and offers sacrifices of love and praise.

We have already noted that Emperor Constantine, who burned with great zeal for the Catholic religion, besides the church of the Holy Savior, built many others, not only in Rome but also throughout the extent of his empire, especially in Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Helenopolis in Bithynia, and that their dedications were also carried out with great preparation and magnificence. The emperors, his successors, and other Catholic princes, subsequently imitated his devotion; and, by this means, the world which had been filled with abominable temples, where the spirits of darkness were honored, saw itself filled with holy places where only the praises of the true God were heard. Our Lord has often performed very signal miracles to show that this fervor was very pleasing to Him; we have noted them in various places in this work; especially there are many churches that He dedicated Himself, or that He caused to be dedicated by angels. This is what should persuade noble and wealthy persons that they will make a useful and pleasing use of their goods to God when they apply them to building churches or chapels, or to procuring for them ornaments suitable to the eminence and holiness of the mysteries that are accomplished there; and, in this, they will even provide for the assistance and relief of the poor, since it is known by experience that it is piety which is the mother of mercy.

Moreover, the Christian people must learn that the Church is the true place of prayer. It is not that, according to the doctrine of Saint Paul in the first Epistle to Timothy, one cannot and should not pray to God in every place, because in effect God is everywhere, and there is no place where He cannot hear and answer our prayers; but the church is particularly destined for this; prayer is made there with more decency, more help from heaven, and more efficacy; it obtains more easily, more promptly, and even more abundantly what it seeks, and it is less subject to being rejected. "Some," says Saint Chrysostom, in Homily XXX against the Anomoeans, "excuse themselves lazily from coming to church, on the grounds that they can pray just as well at home as in our temples. They are mistaken, and they are in a great error; for, although it is permitted to everyone to pray to God at home, it cannot be, nevertheless, that prayer has the same virtue there as when it is made in a sacred place. Here, the fervor of others who pray excites us to devotion and supplies for our weakness and the laziness with which we pray; the melodious singing of hymns and psalms awakens our languor and imprints in us sentiments of compunction and fervor; the assistance of the holy Angels dissipates our temptations and makes us stronger against the snares of the demon; the presence of Jesus Christ in the holy Sacrament and the sight of the divine Mysteries make us forget the affairs of the world and gather our spirits to think only of the things of heaven. Finally, grace flows upon us there with more fullness; because, as it is the house of prayer, we can also say that it is the house of mercy." One can see, in the book of Chronicles, the authentic promises that God made to Solomon to answer the prayers of all those who would invoke Him in the temple he had built to the glory of His name. If He gave this assurance to this prince, in favor of a temple that contained only a wooden ark, with the rod of Moses, the manna of the Jews, and the two Tables of the Law, and where no other victims were offered than beasts, what must we expect from the divine goodness when we pray to Him in a church where His Son is offered every day in sacrifice, and where this living ark of the eternal covenant is reserved, which is also our manna and our bread descended from heaven, with the staff of the cross which has performed so many wonders, and the books of the Gospel which contain the new law?

The good edification that we owe to our neighbor is also a motive that engages us to make our prayers in churches rather than in our private homes. For, as we are excited to devotion by the example of others, so others are excited there by the example we give them. And it is then that the blessed spirits, joining in, warm us interiorly, that they take care to carry our orisons and our vows to the throne of God and to bring us back with joy the fruits of an abundant blessing. One could object that Our Lord, in the Gospel, teaches us that to pray we must enter our rooms, diligently close the door, and then make our prayers in secret, in order to be answered by Him who sees the most hidden things and to whom no secret is unknown. But the intention of our Master, in these words, is not that we should not pray in public, since He recommends to His disciples to pray always, and His Apostle asks that one pray in every place; He only wants that, in prayer as well as in almsgiving and fasting, one does not have the design of appearing or being seen, to attract to oneself the esteem and praises of men, as the Pharisees did, who prayed for that in crossroads and public squares. Also, speaking of the ancient temple, which was only the shadow of ours, He calls it the house of prayer, and He Himself went there often and took His disciples there to pray. Finally, He only wanted to remain perpetually in our churches to receive our homage and listen to our vows. And, if He is there as our King, our Head, our Master, our Shepherd, our Advocate, our Physician, our Spouse, and our Father, it is very reasonable that we go there often, to pay Him court and expose our needs to Him.

Furthermore, to merit being answered, we must go there with a pure heart and a right intention, and always behave there with reverence and modesty. For those who do not have these dispositions, and who, on the contrary, commit insolences there and lose respect, find death where they should encounter life, and, instead of calling upon themselves and their families the blessings of heaven, they attract the curses of an irritated God, who already pronounces the sentence of an eternal damnation. Indeed, Our Lord Jesus Christ, during His mortal life, never showed His zeal with more ardor and transport than when He saw the holiness of the temple profaned by the commerce of merchants and those who bought; and what would He have done if He had seen mockery, blasphemies pronounced, games and walks arranged, marriages negotiated, and even lascivious and dishonest actions committed there?

The more a person is elevated in dignity, the more he must show gravity and restraint there, in order to teach others their duty by the example of his modesty. Emperor Theodosius the Younger bore such great respect for these sacred places that he said these words himself: "We, who are always surrounded by our guards, and who never walk except with an escort of soldiers, when we enter the church, we leave our weapons at the door and we even deposit the diadem, which is the mark of our imperial majesty; we do not approach the altar except to go to the offering, and, after the offering, we return to the nave for the reverence that we bear to the places where the divine Majesty makes its presence stand out more." The mother of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus was so respectful there, as he himself left in writing, that she never turned her back to the altar. Would to God that all Christians imitated these great examples, and that, as our temples are figures of the heavenly Jerusalem, they strove, when they are there, to imitate the profound respect with which the Angels and Saints appear before the throne of God in heaven!

## BASILICA OF SAINT JOHN LATERAN.

Our readers will be grateful to us for supplementing Father Giry's moral exposition with a brief description of the former and current state of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. Let us give the floor to Mgr Gaume, in his *Three Romes*:

« Filled with gratitude for the God to whom he owed the faith of a Christian and the scepter of the world, Constantine took pleasure in adorning with a magnificence worthy of a Roman emperor the temple he had just presented to Pope Saint Sylvester. Hence the name of Golden Basilica given to the basilica. Never was a name better justified; one may judge by some of the gifts of the royal neophyte. A statue of the Savior seated, five feet high, in silver, weighing one hundred and twenty pounds; the twelve Apostles, life-size, in silver, with crowns of the purest silver; each statue weighing ninety pounds. Four silver angels, life-size, each holding a cross in their hand; each angel weighing one hundred and five pounds. The continuous cornice, serving as a pedestal for all the statues, of chased silver, weighing two thousand and twenty-five pounds. A lamp, of the purest gold, suspended from the vault, weighing, with its chains, twenty-five pounds. Seven silver altars, each weighing two hundred pounds. Seven gold patens, each weighing thirty pounds; sixteen of silver, each weighing thirty pounds. Seven gold reeds, each weighing ten pounds; another gold reed, entirely enriched with precious stones, weighing twenty pounds and three ounces. Two chalices, of the purest gold, each weighing fifty pounds. Twenty silver chalices, each weighing ten pounds. Forty smaller chalices, of the purest gold, each weighing one pound. Fifty chalices, for the distribution of the precious Blood to the faithful (ministerial chalices), each weighing two pounds.

« As ornaments of the basilica: a chandelier, of the purest gold, placed before the altar, where nard oil burned, adorned with eighty dolphins, weighing thirty pounds, and containing as many candles composed of nard and the most precious aromatics; another silver chandelier with one hundred and twenty dolphins, weighing fifty pounds, where the same aromatics burned. In the choir, forty silver chandeliers, weighing thirty pounds, from which the same perfumes exhaled. On the right side of the basilica, forty silver chandeliers, weighing twenty pounds, and as many on the left side. Finally, two fine gold censers, weighing thirty pounds, with an annual gift of one hundred and fifty pounds of the most exquisite perfumes to burn before the altar.

« What has become of the Golden Basilica? What has become of all its riches? Ask the barbarian leaders so famous in history, Alaric and Totila, about that. Yet the august edifice, having emerged from its ruins several times, still exists. Its treasures have disappeared, but its principality remains. On the frontispiece one reads this simple but sublime inscription: *Sacrosancta Lateranensis Ecc lesia, omnium urbis et orbis eccl Sacrosancta Lateranensis Ecclesia The cathedral of Rome and the mother of all churches in the world. esiarum mater et caput*. "The most holy Lateran Church, of all the churches of the city and the world, the mother and head."

« Of the three doors of the basilica, two strike the traveler with astonishment, one by its mystery, the other by its magnificence. The one on the right, called the Holy Door, is walled up: it is opened only by the Holy Father himself in the jubilee year. The middle one is an ancient door, made of bronze and quadriform: it is almost the only one of its kind that exists. Upon entering, one is first amazed by the symbolism of the great nave. Above the arches, near the springing of the vault, the Prophets are painted. Above the Prophets, you see on one side the figures of the Old Testament relating to the Messiah, and on the other the events of the Gospel which are their fulfillment: the figure and the prefigured. Thus, under the two arches closest to the apse appear,

On one hand:

Adam and Eve driven from the earthly paradise for having touched the forbidden tree;

On the other hand:

Our Lord on the tree of the cross, reopening heaven to the human race;

Under the following arches:

| The Flood; | The Baptism of Our Lord; | | --- | --- | | The Sacrifice of Abraham; | Our Lord ascending to Calvary; | | Joseph sold by his brothers; | Our Lord betrayed by Judas; | | The sea separating the Israelites from the captivity of Pharaoh; | Our Lord preaching to the Jews; | | Jonah emerging from the whale's mouth. | Our Lord emerging from the tomb. |

« Below each of these bas-reliefs you have the twelve Apostles in full length. Their beautiful and large statues are in perfect harmony either with the paintings above or with the niches that receive them. The twelve Preachers of the Gospel are there as having illuminated the shadows of the figurative covenant through their word and the oracles of the Prophets. But the apostolic teaching has not only enlightened the past; it casts the brilliance of its light upon the future: the Gospel holds the middle ground between the synagogue and heaven. That is why behind each Apostle, in the back of the niche, an ajar door is painted; the Apostle is on the threshold, to say that, after the Christian revelation, of which he is the organ, there is nothing left but the eternal Jerusalem, city of light, with its twelve emerald gates. Finally, at the base of each niche, a dove appears in relief, with an olive branch in its beak, a touching emblem of the spirit of the Gospel.

Among the other riches of Saint John Lateran, one must mention the bronze tomb of Pope Martin V, a pontiff great among others, since he put an end to the Western Schism; on one side of the transept is the chapel of Saint Andrew Corsini, one of the most magnificent in Rome, which recalls both the filial piety of Clement XII and the touching virtues of his illustrious ancestor. The two porphyry columns that accompany the great niche, to the right of the Gospel, once adorned the portico of the Pantheon of Agrippa; on the other side of the transept is the rich chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. The majestic portico of the church offers its twenty-four marble pilasters and the colossal statue of Constantine, found in his Baths; finally, the famous bronze door of the basilica of Ancyra, transported here by Alexander VII.

This is the human side of Saint John Lateran; it remains for us to contemplate the divine side of the mother and mistress of all churches. In the center of the transept, under the great arch of the main nave, supported by two columns of oriental granite, thirty-eight feet high, rises the papal altar; but what an altar, good God! the same one where Saint Peter said Mass. It is there just as it was taken from the catacombs by Pope Saint Sylvester. Its simplicity, its very poverty, recall well the first centuries of the Church: a few fir planks, without gilding and without ornament other than a cross carved on the front part, that is all. Out of respect, it has been surrounded by a marble balustrade, on which are engraved the arms of Urban VIII and the King of France. A rich star covers it entirely. It is the only altar in the world under which there are no relics. To the successor of Peter belongs the exclusive right to celebrate the holy Mysteries there.

By raising one's eyes, one perceives at a great height, directly above the altar, a tent of crimson velvet enhanced with gold. This pavilion covers an arch or ciborium in Parian marble supported by four columns of Egyptian marble with Corinthian capitals in gilded bronze. There are enclosed the heads of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Twice each year, on Holy Sa têtes des apôtres saint Pierre et saint Paul Apostle who appeared to Constantine to designate Sylvester to him. turday and on Rogation Tuesday, they are solemnly exposed to the veneration of the happy faithful of Rome. There is another custom no less worthy of being known. In order to steep all young lips in the very source of the priestly spirit, the spirit of the apostolate and of martyrdom, it is at the foot of the altar of which we have just spoken, under the eyes of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, that ordinations take place.

To the right of the pontifical altar is the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. Although very high, very wide, and very deep, the tabernacle, executed according to the designs of Paul Olivieri, is entirely composed of precious stones and the rarest marbles. To the right and left shine two gilded bronze angels with four columns of verd antique. The entablature and the gilded bronze pediment that crown the altar rest on four columns of the same metal, gilded, fluted, about twenty-five feet high and two and a half feet in diameter at the base. They are the same ones that Augustus had made after the Battle of Actium with the beaks of Egyptian ships, and which he placed in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Used first as candelabra, where balm and other exquisite perfumes were burned during great feasts, they owe their current destination to Pope Clement VIII.

The Basilica of Saint John Lateran preserves a beautiful trophy of the victories of Christianity over Islam. Opposite the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament floats the banner of John Sobieski from the famous Battle of Vienna. As a testimony of his gratitude and his devotion to religion, the great captain wished that his glorious oriflamme be suspended from the vault of the first church in the world.

In the choir of the Chapter, here is the stall of the Kings of France, who, as is known, are canons of Saint John Lateran; it is on the left, opposite that of the Holy Father. From the back of the royal stall stands out a graceful statuette of the Blessed Virgin, of whom the King of France is the vassal and the first knight; behind the stall of the Holy Father appears Our Lord, of whom the Pope is the vicar.

Each year, the Canons of Saint John Lateran celebrate the birth of their royal confrere Henry IV with a solemn Mass. It is a testimony of gratitude for the gift that the converted Béarnais made to Saint John Lateran of the rich abbey of Clarac, in the diocese of Agen. Until the July Revolution, the French ambassador attended the office on a platform placed at the entrance to the choir.

It remains for us to see the treasury of the basilica. There is preserved one of the most venerable relics in the world. Behind iron grilles, under large sheets of crystal, is hidden the very table on which Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist. This table is made of wood, without any ornament; it appea rs to be one inch thick by twelve feet long and six wide. Covered wit table même sur laquelle Notre-Seigneur institua la sainte Eucharistie Major relic preserved in the basilica's treasury. h silver plates by the sovereign Pontiffs, it was stripped of them during the Sack of Rome, under the Constable of Bourbon. A few steps away one finds other relics, the sight of which equally pierces the heart with gratitude and contrition. It is a part of the purple garment that was thrown on the shoulders of Our Lord in the praetorium; a part of the sponge soaked in gall and vinegar; the cup in which poison was presented to Saint John the Evangelist, and which he drank without feeling any harm; a part of his tunic and the chain with which he was led from Ephesus to Rome; a shoulder of Saint Lawrence; the miraculous head of Saint Pancras, martyr; a vertebra of Saint John Nepomucene; blood of Saint Charles Borromeo and Saint Philip Neri; finally, a tablet composed of the ashes of a multitude of Martyrs.

The baptistery of Saint John Lateran, separated from the basilica according to the custom of the first centuries, is octagonal in shape; at the eight interior angles rose eight porphyry columns, separated from the walls so as to leave sufficient space to circulate; they supported a cornice and a wide pediment, upon which rested a second row of marble columns of exquisite beauty and workmanship: this new colonnade, smaller than the first, supported a large architrave crowning the edifice.

In the middle is still the basalt basin, oval in shape and five feet in length. Constantine had covered it internally and externally with silver plates weighing three thousand eight hundred pounds. In the center of the basin rose porphyry columns, supporting gold lamps weighing fifty-two pounds, whose wicks were made of asbestos thread. Instead of oil, the most fragrant balm was burned there during the solemnities of Easter. On the edge of the basin was a silver lamb, weighing thirty pounds, which poured water into the font; to the right of the lamb, the Savior in silver, life-sized, weighing one hundred and seventy pounds; to the left, Saint John the Baptist in silver, five feet high, holding in his hand the sacred text: Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi; it weighed one hundred pounds. Seven silver stags, symbols of the soul thirsting for grace, poured water into the font: each weighed eighty pounds; finally, a censer of the finest gold, adorned with forty precious stones, weighing ten pounds.

Such was the baptistery of Constantine; such it is still today, minus the gold and silver, which became the prey of the barbarians. The primitive decorations have been replaced by beautiful paintings representing the memorable actions of Constantine. This restoration dates from the pontificate of Urban VIII. The floor is of fine mosaic, and all the walls are enriched with gilding and paintings.

The obelisk of Saint John Lateran, intended to consecrate the memory of the triump h of Christianity over paganism aft L'obélisque de Saint-Jean de Latran The tallest Egyptian obelisk in Rome. er three centuries of struggle, is ninety-nine feet high above the pedestal. Brought from Egypt to Rome by the emperors Constantine and Constantius, his son, it was broken by the barbarians, then re-erected in 1588, in the place it occupies today, by the powerful and poetic genius of Sixtus V.

We have supplemented the account of Father Giry with the Trois Rome by Msgr. Gaume. — Cf. 1° among the Holy Fathers: Saint Basil, in Poetae, XXIII; Saint John Chrysostom, Homil., XXIII in Matth.; Saint Ambrose, Sermo CCCXXXVI in Dedicat.; Saint Augustine, Sermo CCCXXXI de Dedicat.; the Venerable Bede, in Evang. Joan., I; Saint Bernard, Sermo de Dedicatione; — 2° among the preachers: Albert the Great, Hugh of Saint-Victor, Denis the Carthusian, Rabanus Maurus, John Tauler, Saint Thomas of Villanova, Matthias Faber, Texier, Birout, Joly, Lejeune, Fléchier, La Colombière, Senserie.