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Most visitors to Rome assume that St. Peter’s Basilica, with its towering dome and the sweep of Bernini’s colonnades, holds the title of Rome’s cathedral. It’s a natural assumption—after all, St. Peter’s is the spiritual heart of Vatican City, the global headquarters of the Catholic Church. But in fact, the official cathedral of Rome lies elsewhere, outside the Vatican walls, along the Via di San Giovanni in Laterano.
Here, you’ll find the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran—or as Romans know it, San Giovanni in Laterano. Crowned with massive statues of Christ and the Apostles, its imposing 18th-century façade signals its historic importance. This is the oldest of Rome’s four papal basilicas, and the most important. It holds the title Omnium Urbis et Orbis Ecclesiarum Mater et Caput—"Mother and Head of all the churches in the City and the World."
It is, in every sense, the official cathedral of Rome.
While it may surprise many pilgrims and travelers, St. John Lateran—not St. Peter’s—is the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the pope himself. And that role has taken on fresh resonance with the recent election of Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Father Robert Francis Prevost. The 69-year-old Augustinian friar and canon lawyer was a surprising choice to many, mostly due to his U.S. birth certificate, but his election in May marked a new chapter not just for the universal Church, but for the diocese of Rome.
As Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo XIV’s cathedral is not across the river in Vatican City, but here at San Giovanni in Laterano. It is here that popes traditionally take possession of their Roman diocese, seated on the cathedral’s cathedra—the bishop’s throne. In fact, the word "cathedral" itself comes from cathedra.
Visitors to San Giovanni are often struck by its scale and grandeur. The current structure dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, though the basilica’s origins stretch to the time of Constantine in the fourth century. Over the centuries, fires, earthquakes, and political upheaval have led to various restorations, yet the basilica has always retained its primacy. Its vast nave is flanked by colossal statues of the apostles, and its ornate ceiling glitters with gold. Beneath the high altar, tradition holds the relics of St. Peter and St. Paul, reinforcing its claim as the spiritual center of Rome.
Today, while most tourists flock to Vatican City, those in the know make the pilgrimage to San Giovanni in Laterano. It is not only the pope’s cathedral, but also a living symbol of the Church’s historical roots in Rome itself—outside the tiny city-state of the Vatican. Here, the eternal story of the Bishop of Rome continues, now under the stewardship of Pope Leo XIV, the son of Chicago who has now become the pastor of the Eternal City.
