I’ve been looking forward to today for as long as I planned to attend this trip because today marked the visit to the Vatican! We had no musical obligations today and got to be tourists for the entire day. I don’t know where to begin to capture the joy and fulfillment from seeing these sights in person, but I’ll go through them chronologically and describe them as best I can.
When we arrived outside the Vatican, the first thing I saw was St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance. It was even bigger than I imagined from the pictures, and the sheer amount of people there to see it was impressive. Before we entered, we had an hour for lunch, so I had some gnocchi from a nearby restaurant. After waiting in a long line to enter, once we were in all I could do was gaze up at the ceiling. The intricate details, especially in the domes, were extraordinary. The Basilica is so vast inside, and even though the Papal Altar was covered for renovations, it was still breathtaking. This might be an unpopular opinion to those who have seen both of them, but I was more moved by St. Peter’s Basilica than I was by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany a few weeks prior. I could’ve spent an entire day inside the Cathedral wandering and taking in the seemingly innumerable statues, paintings, and other glorious details. Still, we only had a couple of hours, so I tried my best to explore efficiently.
Beneath the Basilica, numerous former Popes are buried. I didn’t get pictures of many of them, but two stood out. First was Pope Benedict XVI. Given that most Popes serve until death, I admire Pope Benedict for realizing a new, ideologically different voice was needed and stepping down to allow that to happen (he was well aware Pope Francis was his likely successor when he resigned). As you can see in the photo below his tomb is gorgeous, and it was the most recent installment in the space. The other former Pope I spent more time with was none other than St. Peter the Apostle. In Catholic tradition, Peter is regarded as the first Pope. While other faith traditions may not hold him in this title, it is a fact that Peter was a primary leader of the early church, and he was crucified and entombed on Vatican Hill in Rome (that’s right; the term Vatican predates the Vatican City). St. Peter’s Basilica was intentionally built on Vatican Hill despite the great geographic difficulty in doing so since it involved leveling out the hill. The end goal was to build a church to honor St. Peter and per tradition and historical record about his burial spot, the high altar of the church lies directly above St. Peter’s final resting place.
In the context of the Papacy, I spent some time reflecting on Peter’s story and remembrance in Christian tradition. I feel that Peter is often glossed over, and perhaps even dismissed inadvertently by Protestant traditions due to their schism with the Catholic Church. Popes are held in the public eye to a higher standard, and rightfully so as a leader and vessel for the will of God amongst men. Because of this, I think it is often misconstrued that Popes are believed to be “perfect” Christians or even sarcastically referred to as such. Consider Peter the Apostle’s story with me for a moment. This is Peter who was given a new name by Christ and told he would be the “rock” on which the Church was built. Peter, who then nearly drowned attempting to walk on water like his Savior, only to be rescued by Jesus’ outstretched arms. Peter, who during Jesus’ arrest cut a Roman soldier’s ear off in defense of Jesus, only to be rebuked by Jesus for the act of violence. Peter, who during the night of Christ’s arrest denied even knowing Him three separate times before the sun rose and the rooster crowed! Peter, who despite all of these miserable failures, became the pillar on which the early Church was built and the first leader of the oldest, largest Christian tradition on the face of the Earth? St. Peter the Apostle’s story is far from perfect, and I believe that is exactly the point. St. Peter’s ascendence to the Papacy is not an example of Christian “perfection,” nor is it intended to be. Rather, it is the perfect example of Christ’s redeeming grace working through us despite our shortcomings. Thanks be to God.
After we left St. Peter’s Basilica, we headed into an area called the Vatican Museum that houses centuries upon centuries of artwork, as well as the route to the Sistine Chapel. Photography is strictly forbidden in the Sistine Chapel, but I was able to get some stunning photos of other areas of the Museum. Once I was in the Sistine Chapel, I looked around until I found the famous scene of God and Adam’s outstretched fingers meeting at the center of the ceiling. Taking in that and the thousands of other details in the artwork throughout the space was one of the most surreal moments I’ve ever experienced. The Chapel was filled with hundreds of people so it was crowded and stuffy, but no amount of traffic congestion could take away from my feeling that I was gazing upon one of the great masterworks in the history of the world.
After we were finished in the Museum, we headed back to the hotel for a late dinner and to finish packing. Tomorrow, we have a 4-hour bus ride to head to Florence for a few days! I’ve only scratched the surface of Rome, but I’m so excited to see even more of this beautiful country in our short time here. Thank you for reading!
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