A Papal (and Bobal) Audience at St. Peter's

(Saturday Feb 12)

It was all very good indeed, but I wasn’t prepared for it.

We have a couple guide books which we carry around with us. On the day we visited the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica I had Rick Steve’s “Rome.” He made some suggestions concerning what to see when entering St. Peters. The book tells, before you even enter the Basilica to look at this and admire that and note such and such. All of it was very good. He then says something like… “Now, before you walk into the actual sanctuary, prepare yourself to say “Wow.”

I thought I was prepared. I walked through the massive door to the church and turned to my right and said, “Wow!” (No kidding, it was breath taking.)

 

There is no way to adequately describe the awe, wonder and immensity of St. Peter’s. I am a Protestant boy and growing up had very little access to Roman Catholic Churches. In my adult years I have ventured in as many as possible but do not have that Catholic background which makes me experience the cathedrals as anything but an architectural and artistic marvels. Though I hasten to add that I have great respect for the traditions. During the past few weeks I have wandered into every unlocked cathedral and chapel in my path. So, in a nutshell, here are the two main phrases which came to mind when I first said, “Wow.”

“Over the top.”

“Very clean”

The first phrase, to me, means that this church is huge beyond huge. And it is said with all due respect.

The second phrase is in reference to the many churches and cathedrals which I have visited being so old and needing so much upkeep and cleaning of the frescos and paintings and statuary. Not the case in St. Peter’s. They must have a great line item for “Maintenance” in their budget.

The entry lines to St. Peter’s were long and moved quickly through the square outside the Basilica. Once inside, you had free reign of the sanctuary, almost. Wander. Consult the guide book. Read the signs. Wonder. Compare the size of their “Sacristy” to the parking lot in Dublin. The colors. The statues, the lettering above the altar which is seven feet high.

Best of all was the place where the bones of St. Peter were buried. My guide book asked the same question that we all ask…”Are they really the bones of St. Peter?” If the glory of the site within the Basilica is any indication of authenticity then there is no doubt. But, once again, I marvel at how far afield from the Holy Land, those original Apostles traveled during their lifetimes.

This Saint Peter’s Basilica is so large that it was built around the first St. Peter’s and the original was dismantled within the new and taken out the front door. THAT is something at which to marvel.

I could have wandered and wondered for hours as we walked the sanctuary. It was all too much for the senses to take in and it was wonderful.

But, part way through our wandering the sanctuary with a few thousand others (a few thousand people in there looks modest), we noticed that high, high above in the dome of Saint Peter’s people were walking along a catwalk. That was the other tour for which you paid. (By the way, no fee to enter the Basilica…way to go! I asked our hotel desk man about that…”It’s a church….you can’t charge to enter a church! Besides they make up for it on the special tours and souvenirs and other things.” He was right. Later, on the Dome tour high above the sanctuary, there is a post office and souvenir shop and I think you could buy a Coke too.)

So, Makaila and I went on the tour of the dome high above the sanctuary. It is simple. Get in a line outside. Wait for about 20 minutes to buy your ticket. Endure the American college kid behind you who was telling everyone within a 500 yard range about his bout with sickness after eating sushi in Milan. Get your ticket and walk 322 steps to the dome (or take an elevator). Once above the sanctuary, you can walk along a very well fenced off catwalk and gaze down to the sanctuary. It was great and I thought that was it, but then you climbed higher and higher in spiral staircases and tiny walkways high, high above St. Peter’s. It was fascinating. If you were claustrophobic or short of breath, this was not the place for you.

I kept expecting to run into Tom Hanks as he scoured the far reaches of the Vatican and the Basilica for some obscure clue that the Holy Roman Church was at the base of some international spy ring or at least was to blame that Lebron went to Miami. The passageways were great. Suddenly you imerge…on the very top on the outside of the dome of Saint Peter’s. Magnificent. (And while it was a long way down. It was…down and that was good, no more climbing.) We stood and gazed over Rome.

Somewhere in the midst of touring the sanctuary, Makaila asked the other pertinent question that any Protestant kid or minister would probably ask, “So, is this what Jesus really wanted?” I had to answer what I felt. “I rather doubt it,” I said.

But there is a story in the Gospels about Peter, James and John seeing Christ transfigured and standing with Moses and Elijah. And Peter is so overcome with emotion that he says they must build tabernacles to commemorate the place and the moment. If St. Peter’s Basilica is any indication of humans’ attempt of offering our God a special, glorious home on earth; then, God could hardly fault us for making this grand gesture of devotion in the form of the Basilica to the Son, Jesus.

Peace, Bob