The Origins of Our Parish Name: The History Behind “St. John Before the Latin Gate

Several years ago, former pastor Fr. Michael Pratt made a discovery about our parish — one that continues to provoke wonder and a desire for sanctity in the souls of our parishioners.

“The first few pastors we had at our parish were from Belgium,” Deacon Joe Richard says. “They all called our church St. John the Evangelist Parish, and it just remained that way until Fr. Pratt came. Soon after he became our pastor, he went into the historical diocesan archives to research our parish name. He found out that — it was actually named St. John Before the Latin Gate when it was dedicated in 1906 by the archbishop.”

About six years ago, Fr. Pratt helped bring this discovery to life when he led a pilgrimage to Rome and visited the original St. John Before the Latin Gate Parish.

“Fr. Pratt served Mass along with the pastor there, who gave him a granite rock from the Latin Gate,” Deacon Richard says. “This rock is now on display in our parish gathering area along with pictures of the original church. It is a very nice display which shows who we really are as a parish, and helps our parishioners learn the foundational story.”

Taking this information to heart, our parish made some refreshing changes.

“When he first came back, he had all this amazing information,” Deacon Richard says. “Therefore, Fr. Pratt changed the words above the entrance doors of our church from St. John the Evangelist Parish to St. John Before the Latin Gate Parish. I’m so glad he did this!”

Although this change may not seem incredibly significant, it truly is. It defines who we are as a faith community, lending us fortitude along the way.

“A lot of blessings, hope and courage come from us being named after St. John Before the Latin Gate,” Deacon Richard says. “As far as we know, our parish is actually the only church in the world that is named directly after St. John Before the Latin Gate, besides the original church.”

The story of St. John Before the Latin Gate goes back to the year 95 A.D. when St. John the Evangelist was governing all the churches of Asia Minor, and was apprehended at Ephesus and sent in chains to Rome. The emperor at that time, Domitian, did not relent at the sight of the old man but condemned him to be cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. The martyr was overjoyed at this barbarous sentence because he hoped that these cruel torments would help unite him forever to his divine Savior. However, God chose to spare him from being burned by the oil, just as He once preserved the three children from being injured in the Babylonian furnace. Miraculously, the seething oil was changed into an invigorating bath, and St. John came out more refreshed than when he had entered the cauldron. This glorious triumph of St. John happened just beyond the gate of Rome, called the Latina, and a church was consecrated there in memory of the miracle. Domitian later banished the Apostle to the little island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation.

May 6 was the Feast day of St. John Before the Latin Gate in the pre-1962 Roman Missal. Since Fr. John has been pastor we have been celebrating this feast day as a community.