They sure know how to build a church

We checked in to learn that our room wouldn’t be ready for half an hour, so we started meandering down Viale Vaticano and noticed a huge line that continued around each corner we turned. It seemed to stretch on and on into infinity, tourists five and six wide on the sidewalk below the huge walls of Vatican City. We took our first espresso of the trip in a sidewalk café with a great view of the sweltering pilgrims who shuffled slowly forward in the oppressing heat.

We returned to the hotel to ask what the line was for, and learned that our first hotel was directly across the street from the entrance to the Vatican Museum. This was the path that led to, among other holy marvels, the Sistine Chapel. We inquired further and learned that the line usually started around 7 am, but that the museum didn’t open until 10. A knowing smile introduced the fact that the line usually shortened considerably around lunch time, and that the thing to do was to wait an hour or two and see the museum when the wait was at its shortest.

This left us with some time to kill, so we decided to do our first errand of the trip: we’d been asked to visit the tomb of Pope John Paul II and ask some favors at his Holiness’s shrine.

The entrance is in Piazza San Pietro, one of those locations that give you chills when you find yourself there. This may be because the square has religious significance for you, because you’ve read and heard about it all your life, or simply because you’ve seen it in movies so many times. Even in the heat it was very cool to be walking through the square, the dome looming above, the many stone figures that circle the square looking down.




Secured in an area under the basilica at St. Peter’s, The Tombs of the Popes allow one to visit many, many of the past popes in their stone reposes. Though others were taking pictures, there were many signs saying this was forbidden so I honored that and put the camera away. We found John Paul II’s tomb and delivered our message on behalf of a dear family member.

Emerging back into the sunlight and heat, we decided to enter the basilica and compare it to other cathedrals we’d visited in the past, such as Notre Dame in Paris. St. Peter’s basilica was the first of many churches we saw on this trip that were simply astounding in their detail and design. The photo at the top of this post shows the light streaming through the opening of the dome onto the frescoes and other ornaments below. The altar is quite elaborate, too:



As is the rest of the place:



Unusual in a church of this importance is the statue of St. Peter, which anyone can touch, and judging from the way his feet are worn down, many people have done just that.



I had a personal moment of great satisfaction when I stood in front of the first of Michelangelo’s pieta statues and the only one I had yet to see in person. Two are in Florence, one is in Milan, and I had seen all of those on previous visits to those cities. But seeing the last one on my list was a fine moment for me. Each one is moving in its own way, and the Rondanini in Milano is my personal favorite, but this one is amazing, especially for the incredible skill involved in making the folds of fabric so realistic.



We left the basilica having seen some pretty incredible things and went looking for the end of the line to the Vatican Museum. Little did we know that we’d soon be surrounded by heavenly things but feeling closer to hell…