Catholic Church Consecrations Amid Desecrations

National Catholic Register, 19 November 2020

The consecration of an altar and the consecration of a church are among the most beautiful ceremonies in the entirety of the liturgical rites.

The Nov. 18 feast of the dedication of the Roman basilicas of St. Peter in the Vatican and St. Paul Outside the Walls is a fitting occasion to think about holy places, their dedication — and this year, sadly, their desecration, which has become all too frequent.

The Church’s liturgy mandates that every parish should celebrate as a feast the dedication anniversary of its church building and that every diocese do the same for the dedication anniversary of its cathedral. The dedication anniversaries of the four principal basilicas in Rome are marked in the liturgical calendar for the universal Church: St. Mary Major (Aug. 5), St. John Lateran (Nov. 9) and St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s, marked together (Nov. 18) as the two princes of the apostles were united in life and in martyrdom.

Dedication anniversaries are often not observed, but the Church’s liturgical calendar — the marking of sacred time — gives a high priority to churches — sacred places. The consecration of an altar and the consecration of a church are among the most beautiful ceremonies in the entirety of the liturgical rites. 

The celebration of dedication feasts reaches back to the liturgical life given by God to ancient Israel, which was anchored by sacred time, the Sabbath, and sacred place — the Temple in Jerusalem. It is possible that the dedication of the Temple by Solomon (1 Kings 7-8) was the most physically extravagant liturgical act in the history of humanity.

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