can see in the basilica today. - Some 91 popes have been buried in St. Peter’s Basilica, including Jo - hn Paul II (2005). As time passed, it has been impossible to house all of the popes above ground, so they began housing them below ground in what is referred to as the Papal tombs or crypt. ST. JOHN LATERAN ARCHBASILICA The Lateran Palace was handed over by Constantine I to the Bi- shop of Rome, who converted the building into a temple du- ring the 4 th century AD. The Ba- silica is the oldest church in Eu- rope to have been built in honour of St. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. It serves as the seat of the bishop of Rome, the pope. The only „archbasilica“ in the world, it lies beyond the con- fines of the Vatican City proper, but nevertheless enjoys an extra- territorial status from Italy. The church is the highest ran- king of the four major papal ba- silicas, superior to all other churches of the Catholic Chur- ch, including Saint Peter‘s Basi-
lica. Founded in 324 AD, it is al- so the oldest public church in the city of Rome, the oldest ba- silica of the Western world and has the title of ecumenical mot- her church of the Catholic fait- hful. Throughout the centuries, the Archbasilica of St John La - teran has survived several fires and even an earthquake in 897
AD. Nevertheless, it still mainta- ins its original form despite ha- ving been reconstructed on se- veral occasions. The Basilica’s interior is magnificent, with co- lossal statues, mosaics and fres- coes from ceiling to floor, as well as impressive columns. This is one of Rome’s most beautiful ba- silicas.
U crkvi Svetog Pavla izvan zidina, u sredini, ispod ciborijuma, nalazi se grobnica sveca In the Basilica of St.Paul Outside the Walls, under the ciborium, is the site of the tomb of the saint himself
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