Note 906 — Chapter IV
Reading edition
In the Lateran basilica, which is claimed as the head and mother of all the churches of Rome—caput et mater omnium ecclesiarum—is an altar which tradition asserts St. Peter made with his own hands, and employed for the administration of the Holy Sacrament. The legend attests at least an ancient opinion as to primitive usage. Originally only one altar was permissible in a church, but under Romish influence the number increased to as many as twenty-five, as at St. Peter’s.