Solemnity of the Dedication of the Cathedral

In the Ambrosian liturgy, the third Sunday of October marks the anniversary of the dedication (consecration) of the Duomo.

The third Sunday in October marks several significant milestones in the history of Milan Cathedral: the reconsecration in 453, by Archbishop Saint Eusebius, of the ancient main church devastated by the Huns; the dedication in 1577, by Archbishop Saint Charles Borromeo, of the current Cathedral; the dedication in 1986, during the episcopate of Archbishop Carlo Maria Martini, of the Cathedral’s new altar, following the renovation of the presbytery made necessary by the implementation of the liturgical and pastoral guidelines of the Second Vatican Council.

The Cathedral is the Mother Church of all the Ambrosian faithful, where the Bishop’s See is located; from there, he presides over liturgical celebrations and exercises his ministry as shepherd and teacher. For every Ambrosian, the Cathedral is not only one of the most iconic symbols of the city of Milan, but also a clear sign of unity in the faith and in their own distinctive liturgical tradition.

The celebration revives, in an updated form, the traditional Rite of the Trasmigratio, which had been observed until the beginning of the structural restoration of the Cathedral in the 1970s. In the past, it was a practical transition from one basilica to another within the ancient episcopal complex; with the construction of the current Cathedral, it then became a symbolic rite of passage from the exterior to the interior on the Sunday of the Dedication. Now it is revived as an invitation to cross the threshold of the Mother Church of all Ambrosian faithful, recognizing themselves as living stones in Christ, who is the Cornerstone of God’s house.
The Archbishop, together with the Chapter of Canons and a delegation of the faithful, gathers on the Cathedral forecourt in front of the closed portal. Here he begins the celebration by praying—in dialogue with the faithful—salm 118 (“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord”). The portal is opened, and the procession enters the Cathedral to the singing of the Sallenda hymn “Enter through his gates, invoking his name.”
Also significant is the presence of various diocesan groups: the Confraternities, the Orders of Malta and of the Holy Sepulcher, members of the Pastoral Councils of the parishes and pastoral communities, representatives of the deanery synodal assemblies, and the workers of the Veneranda Fabbrica.