This feast celebrates the dedications of two of the four major basilicas of Rome, named for Sts. Peter and Paul, the Vatican’s patron saints and symbols of the Church’s unity and its universality.
St. Peter’s Basilica was originally built in 323 by the emperor Constantine. The basilica was constructed over the tomb of Peter the Apostle, the first pope.
After standing for more than 1,000 years, Pope Julius II ordered the building to be torn down due to structural concerns. The construction of the new church spanned more than 200 years before its completion. It was dedicated on Nov. 18, 1626.
It is considered the most famous church in Christendom.
St. Paul’s Basilica is located outside the original walls of Rome. It was also originally built by the emperor Constantine, though it was destroyed by fire in 1823.
Donations from around the world made the reconstruction possible. Before the completion of St. Peter’s Basilica, St Paul’s was the largest church in Rome. The basilica was built over St. Paul’s grave, and Pope Pius IX consecrated it in 1854.
These two churches continue to draw millions of faithful pilgrims each year, as well as many visitors from other faiths.
— Catholic News Agency
What is a basilica?
There are four “major” or papal basilicas – all of which are in Rome. All other basilicas are called “minor” basilicas.
The Diocese of Charlotte has two minor basilicas: Mary, Help of Christians Abbey (better known as Belmont Abbey), and St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville.
The Asheville basilica states on its website:
The term dates back to the early Greek and Roman times and referred to a type of public building. In the 4th century, basilicas began to be used as places of worship. It was during this time that construction of the greatest basilicas of Rome was started.
Today, the term basilica is a special designation given by the pope to certain churches because of their antiquity, dignity, historical importance or significance as a place of worship.
To become a basilica, the church must have been consecrated. The liturgical rites (celebration of the Holy Eucharist, sacraments of penance and other sacraments) should also be executed in an exemplary way with fidelity to liturgical norms and the active participation of the people of God.
It should also have special significance in the diocese. St. Lawrence, with its unique dome, is the only church designed and built by the renowned Rafael Guastavino.
Because of the relationship between a basilica and the pope, basilicas have the responsibility to promote the study of the documents of the pope and the Holy See, especially those concerning the Sacred Liturgy.
Also, certain days in the liturgical year are to be celebrated with added solemnity, among them the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter (Feb. 22), the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29), and the anniversary of the election or coronation of the supreme pontiff.
An outward sign and privilege that comes to a basilica is the honor and opportunity to display the seal of the papacy.
Virtual tours online
At www.vatican.va: Check out virtual 360-degree tours of St. Peter’s Basilica and St. John Lateran, along with other basilicas and chapels of the Vatican. Click on “Basilicas and Papal Chapels” on the bottom right of the page.
On Nov. 23 Roman Catholics remember the fourth Pope, St. Clement I, a disciple of the Apostles who inherited the authority of St. Peter in the first century. Eastern Catholics celebrate his feast on Nov. 25.
The details of Clement's life, before his conversion and even afterward, are largely unknown. Some aspects of his writings have led scholars to believe that the fourth Pope either came from a Jewish background, or had converted to Judaism earlier in life before entering the Catholic Church.
Tradition suggests that Clement was the son of a Roman named Faustinus, and that he joined the Church in Rome during its early years through the preaching of Saint Peter or Saint Paul. He went on to share in the missionary journeys of the Apostles, and may even have assisted the first Pope in running the Church on a local level.
After the deaths of St. Peter's first two successors, the canonized Popes Linus and Cletus, Clement took up St. Peter's position of primacy in the Church around the year 90. One of his most important tasks, during nearly ten years as Pope, was to resolve serious problems in the Church of Corinth, which St. Paul had also struggled to discipline.
Clement's own letter to the Corinthians, though not part of the Biblical canon, offers an important look at the role of authority and charity in the early Church. Its introduction suggests that Pope Clement composed it while his own local church faced persecution from the Roman Emperor Domitian.
In the letter, the Pope describes how the Corinthians had once been "distinguished by humility," being "in no respect puffed up with pride" and "more willing to give than to receive." But in time, "the worthless rose up against the honored, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years."
"Let us give up vain and fruitless cares, and approach to the glorious and venerable rule of our holy calling," Pope Clement wrote in his call to repentance. "Let us attend to what is good, pleasing, and acceptable in the sight of him who formed us."
Order and discipline, he noted, are at least as important in the Church as they are in the rest of creation, where the powers of nature follow God's decrees. The Pope also warned the Corinthians to follow "those who cultivate peace with godliness," rather than "those who hypocritically profess to desire it."
The Church Clement headed was one that honored tradition and right order as fundamentals of its life.
"It behooves us to do all things in order, which the Lord has commanded us to perform at stated times," he told the Corinthians. God, he said, "has enjoined offerings and service to be performed ... not thoughtlessly or irregularly, but at the appointed times and hours."
"Where and by whom (God) desires these things to be done, he himself has fixed by his own supreme will, in order that all things being piously done according to his good pleasure, may be acceptable to him."
The fourth Pope's writings reveal much about the early Church, but little about his own life. According to one later account, he died in exile during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, who purportedly banished Clement to Crimea (near modern Ukraine) and had him killed in retaliation for evangelizing the local people. In 868 the Greek missionary St. Cyril claimed to have recovered St. Clement's bones.
St. Clement I probably died around the year 100. The fourth Pope is also among the saints mentioned in the Western Church's most traditional Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon.
— Benjamin Mann, Catholic News Agency