Dedications of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul

The meaning of the celebration

+ This liturgical memorial recalls the dedication of the Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican in 350 and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls in 1854 (following its restoration after a fire which destroyed the church’s interior in 1823; the original church was dedicated in 390). 

+ Originally a feast limited to these historic churches and the city of Rome in the 11th century, it was extended to the Universal Church in 1568.

+ The liturgical texts for the feast invite us to reflect on the witness of the Apostles Peter and Paul, with the collect for the Mass reminding us that it was from them that the Church first received the faith of Christ.

For prayer and reflection

“You will make them princes over all the earth; they will remember your name through all generations. Thus the peoples will praise you for ever, from age to age.”—Entrance Antiphon for the Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Ss. Peter and Paul

Spiritual bonus

On this day, the Church in the United States celebrates the memory of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne. A member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, she served as a missionary in Louisiana, Missouri, and Kansas. Saint Rose Philippine died in 1852 and she was canonized in 1988.

Prayer

Defend your Church, O Lord,
by the protection of the holy Apostles,
that, as she received from them
the beginnings of her knowledge of things divine,
so through them she may receive,
even to the end of the world,
an increase in heavenly grace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S