The Vatican

Tuesday. June 17, 2025

On June 6th we finished our site-seeing at Vatican City: Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Cathedral, St Peter’s Square. 

St Peter’s Square with St Peter’s Cathedral on the left, the Vatican Obelisk in the center, and the papal residence on the upper right. It is said that this obelisk saw the martyrdom of Peter. 

Did you know that Vatican City is its own country — the smallest independent nation-state in the world?

Did you know that it is not part of the European Union? While it is considered an enclave of Rome, it’s governed by the “Lateran Treaty” and not by the EU. 

Do you know how big The Vatican is? It is 121 acres or 0.44 sq km. Bill could walk its perimeter in about 45 minutes.

How many citizens live in Vatican City? Just a little over 800. But no one is a permanent citizen of this country for two reasons: no one can be born there (they must be born elsewhere like in Rome) and once the people who work there complete their service, they have to leave and their citizenship is stripped. 

Did you know that the Vatican owns a telescope on Mount Graham in Arizona where they conduct research?

It has no hospital, no prison and has the highest wine consumption per capita in the world—not that these are related. It also has the highest crime rate per capita thanks to all the “tourists” who make their living by purse-snatching and pick-pocketing. 

Here we are outside of the Vatican wall. Once we go through security we’ll be in the Vatican Museum of Art and Maps. 

This is a tapestry. 

This is in the Hall of Maps.

Michelangelo’s Pietà (marble sculpture of Mary holding Jesus after his death) is in St. Peter’s Basilica. 

St Peter’s Basilica is massive. It is the largest church building in the world. 

Constantine the Great had the original St. Peter’s church built in the fourth century. According to tradition, Peter was buried under its grand altar. From 1506-1626 the current basilica was built over the original one, making sure the altar was directly over Peter’s burial site.

This is Pope John XXIII who was exhumed in 2001. His face, hands and feet are now wax. He lies in a crystal coffin. 

This is the mummified body of Pope St. Pius X who served from 1903-1914. His face and hands are covered in silver. 

At the Altar of the Transfiguration we found Raphael’s painting — or did we? In an effort to protect the priceless painting from loss in a fire, it was removed to a museum and this mosaic reproduction was put in its place. Yes, this is made of something like 5 million tiny tiles. 

The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica is the second tallest building in the urban area of Rome. It is amazing. 

I am so glad we were able to visit all of these places in Rome. But we were all exhausted. It was a busy two days!

LORD, I am amazed at the magnificence of the Vatican. It’s hard to imagine that people had the vision and the ingenuity to create such a place. Yet you have prepared a place for us that will be more beautiful than anything on earth. Thank you. 

Sistine Chapel

Monday, June 16, 2025

In my estimation the Sistine Chapel should have a subtitle, “The Michelangelo Museum of Art.” When you first walk in, it is overwhelming to see all the frescoes on the walls. There isn’t one inch, I don’t think, without a major painting. 

Unfortunately we shared the room with about 500 other people and our time was limited. So it was hard to take it all in. 

First, the room is smaller than I expected. 

Second, we were not allowed to take any pictures (Patrick).

Third, it was visual overload. When I list all the paintings just on the ceiling of the room, you’ll get the idea. 

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So here’s a story about the wall behind the altar. The Pope commissioned Michelangelo to paint the wall and to make it his own. So he did. He portrayed the Final Judgement with some people going into heaven and others passing the gatekeeper into hell. 

When the work was nearing completion, this one dude came with the Pope to check on things and he made it known right away that he was not a fan. The artist, who loved to paint the muscles and shapes of the human body, had left clothing off of just about everybody. This dude insisted that Michelangelo rectify the situation. 

Later during the “grand opening,” the dude was shocked to find that not only had the artist not clothed anybody, he had replaced the face of hell’s gatekeeper with his (the dude’s) own. 

That didn’t go over well and he insisted that the Pope do something about it. I think the Pope was somewhat amused by the prank and he told the offended dude that hell was not in his jurisdiction so he basically had to get over it. 

I loved hearing back-stories like this. 

On to the other works of art. 

In the room, other artists besides Michelangelo have some of their works. Leonardo di Vinci has one fresco that he did in 1480. Raphael has four frescoes dating back to 1514-1520. And a handful of other artists each have one piece. 

Michelangelo painted the Final Judgement on the wall behind the altar. Then he painted the arched ceiling. Contrary to popular belief, he did not paint while lying down on scaffolding. There is a journal where he sketched himself standing with his head back. In the margin is a poem about the discomfort experienced while standing for such a long time each day with his neck craned back and his body aching. 

I’ve tried to count all the frescoes on the ceiling. I’ve come up with 58 different ones. 

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This is a busy graphic. Down the center of the ceiling from right (above the altar) to left are 9 works:

• 3 show the world’s creation 
• 3 show the creation and fall of Adam and Eve
• 3 show Noah and the great flood 

Bordering the rectangle are:

• 7 prophets
• 5 sibyls (female seers)

At the corners are 4 depictions of God defeating various villains. 

Above the arched windows are ancestors of Jesus — 33 of them. 

Michelangelo completed these works between 1509 and 1512. 

LORD, It is hard to imagine how difficult it would have been for one man to accomplish these major works of art so long ago. Thank you for the opportunity to see them first hand. Thank you for the work of art you created in each of us. We are uniquely yours. 

The Holy Stairs and The 9/11 Memorial

Saturday, June 14, 2025

from June 6, 2025

In this building you’ll find a couple of chapels and some ancient relics from previous religious leaders. It also houses the “Holy Stairs.” 

These Holy Stairs 

According to Catholic tradition, these are the marble stairs which Jesus climbed when he went before Pilate in Jerusalem. It seems that when Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, went to Jerusalem in the 4th century, she discovered these stairs and brought them back to Rome. 

Pilgrims are only allowed to scale the stairs on their knees while praying. Once at the top, they can visit the holy place of Saint Sylvester. We took a stairwell flanking this one. 

The 9/11 Monument

On September 11, 2009 diplomats in Rome dedicated this monument to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. 

The monument consists of two columns from the 7th century, placed side by side to represent the twin towers of New York. They are positioned along a busy thoroughfare so that commuters will see them and remember the past. 

The Holy Doors

Rome has four papal cathedrals:

• St. John Lateran
• St. Peter’s Basilica 
• St. Paul Outside the Walls
• St. Mary Major

Each basilica has a rather imposing holy door which is only opened by the pope once every 25 years during the year of jubilee.  Pilgrims walking through the door during this special year receive blessings from the Lord. 

The Holy Door at St. John Lateran

The Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica

LORD, Thank you for the opportunity to see these special places in Rome and to learn their historical and spiritual significance. Thank you for forgiving me of my sin and for helping me to mature daily in your world. 

St. John Lateran

On Patrick’s birthday, June 6th, we visited some pretty awe inspiring places. 

• Catacombs (which I wrote about on that day)
• Basilica of St. John Lateran (my topic for today)
• The Holy Stairs
• The 9/11 Monument
• The Vatican—Sistine Chapel
• The Vatican—Swiss Guard
• The Vatican—St. Peter’s Cathedral 
• The Vatican—St. Peter’s Square

Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in the Lateran

This is the official title for the church. The land for it had belonged to a family whose last name was Lateran. It honors both John the Baptist and John who wrote Revelation. It is considered to be the Mother Church of the world and for that reason, it bears the title, “Archbasilica.” Most people we talked with refered to it simply as “St John Lateran.”

Look at the people in the arches of the front to get some perspective of how big this place is. 

Not being Catholic, I was a little confused about this being the Pope’s church. St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is often used by the Pope. But the Pope is also considered to be Bishop of Rome. And this is the cathedral church of Rome’s Bishop. So, this is the Pope’s church. 

The Baroque style incorporated a lot of gold. 

I was drawn to all the huge sculptures along the perimeter inside the church. They stand 23 feet tall and are all on the second level but visible from below in the main sanctuary. 

This is St. Paul. He is usually depicted with a sword. I thought that might be because he shared the Word of God (sharper than a two-edged sword) wherever he went. But apparently it is because in the end he was beheaded with a sword. 

I can’t imagine the precision required to create this tile floor. I’d venture to say that the design just might find its way into my art.

This is the Apostle Peter. He is most often shown holding the keys to the gates of heaven and hell. 

This is Thomas. 

This is Phillip. 

Tradition has it that Bartholomew was skinned alive. Here he is depicted carrying the skinning knife and holding his skin. 

Matthew was a tax collector before he became one of the disciples. I guess that is why he has his right foot on a bag of money. 



This is Pope Leo XIII.

Pictures just can’t do it justice. 

LORD, I am amazed at the talent required to build such a beautiful place as this. I pray that I will be ever mindful of the fact that you are my high priest and I can come to you any time, any where. Thank you. 

The Constantine Arch

Thursday, June 12, 2025

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On June 5th we walked around the Constantine Arch in Rome. This was the Arch of Triumph for many rulers over the years as they returned from battle to Rome. 

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Who was Constantine?

Constantine the Great was born in 272 AD to Helena and Flavius Constantius and lived until 337 AD. His father was one of four rulers of the Roman Empire. But by 306, Constantine (the Great) was the sole Emporer. 

By 303, persecution of Christians had reached its greatest intensity in Rome. In 313 Constantine declared such persecution illegal. Over the years of his reign, he did many things to help bolster Christian churches and embraced Christianity himself on his deathbed. 

Constantine was instrumental in having the day of rest for Christians changed from Saturday to Sunday. This partly had to do with Christ’s resurrection having been on Sunday.

At one point during his reign, Constantine developed the christogram formed by the first and second Greek letters, chi and rho, that spell Christ (ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ). 

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He used this labarum as the army standard going into battle and is said to have defeated many adversaries who had outnumbered his men. 

Constantine’s family was not without its issues, though. He had one of his sons killed for supposedly seducing his wife. Then upon learning that his wife had lied about it, he had her killed, too. 

In the end, he converted to Christianity and was baptized just prior to succumbing to a fatal illness. 

Intricacies of the Constantine Arch

The Arch of Constantine is one of only a few triumphal arches to have three entryways. Interestingly only the ground level has carvings dealing with Constantine the Great. The second level has pieces taken from Hadrian sculptures while the third level has Trajan and Marcus Aurelius sculptures. It is said that the arch was built so quickly that they had to swipe art from other sculptures in order to complete it on time. 

LORD, Regardless of when Constantine was actually converted, how thankful I am that he made it possible for the persecution of Christians in Rome to stop. That was crucial. Thank you for letting us see this incredible arch. Amen. 

Palatine Hill

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

After walking through the St. Peter in Chains Cathedral and the Roman colosseum, we walked past the Constantine Arch to the Palatine Hill. Surrounding us were so many ancient edifices: The Arch of Triumph of Titus, The Temple of Venus, The Forum, The Tribunal Wall, The House of Tiberius, The Temple of Romulus, The Church of Joseph the Carpenter, The Forum of Julius Caesar and Trajan’s Forum. We seriously could have been there for two weeks and not have seen everything. 

The ancient city of Rome contained seven hilltops, the Palatine Hill being squarely in the center. Wealthy families built their homes/castles there. The area was rich with mythological history. 

This is the gate leading to the Palatine Hill. 

This stock photo shows just how large the castles were in this area. 

It’s hard to imagine life on the Palatine Hill back in the day with a view of the Colosseum and all the other major sites. But it sure was cool walking around the ruins. 

LORD, thank you for taking the ruins of our lives and turning us into something beautiful. Amen.  

St Peter in Chains

Monday, June 9, 2025

Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli 

(St. Peter in Chains)

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 

When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 

After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.  Acts‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

According to tradition, a woman traveled to Jerusalem in 432 AD and received as a gift the chains that had held Peter in prison. She took them to Rome and gave them to Pope Leo I. He placed them next to the chains that had held Peter in Rome and the two miraculously fused together. They then built the basilica to honor this miracle.

When we were there, we got to hear a service in progress. I have to admit that it seemed a little distracting to have several tour groups milling around, listening to their particular guides while church-goers tried to focus on the mass. 

One of the most impressive pieces in the church was the Tomb of Julius II. The central figure of this mausoleum is the sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. Initially Moses looked forward toward the altar. The sculptor thought it best for his head to be turned away so as not to be looking directly at it. Through some skillful artistry, he lowered Moses’ left knee and turned his head while keeping the sculpture intact. 

I’m not sure if you can see it in the picture but Moses has two horns. Apparently this is because of a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for “rays” coming from his head. 

Michelangelo is also credited for Pope Leo I lying on his side above Moses.  Although he started Rachel standing to Moses’ right and Leah standing to his left, Raffaello da Montelupo finished them. (No, not that Raphael.) 

Da Montelupo also sculpted the Sibyl to the left of the Pope and the Prophet to the right. 

The Madonna and Child at the top is the work of Scherano da Settiguano. 

This is one of my favorite sculptures that we saw on the trip. It filled an entire wall. It was beautiful. 

LORD, Thank you for the miracle you performed in the prison that night which allowed Peter to be free. Thank you for the way you free us from the bondage of sin through your son. You are the Chainbreaker.