April 28, 2012
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Saint Peter’s Basilica
The largest church in the world is Saint Peter’s Basilica. The reason it has its name is that it is where Saint Peter is buried. There is historical evidence, as well as a lot of church tradition, that says he is buried under the main altar in the church. It’s this wooden thing he’s supposedly buried under, not the shiny gold altar in the front.
This current church building was built over previous church buildings, and it was completed in 1626.
I have a confession to make. I don’t remember much of Saint Peter’s. I am reading stuff online about it and saying to myself, “Did I even see that?” So, I will give you some pictures and what I remember the most.
The pope was giving an address the day after we were there, so the courtyard had a lot of chairs set up.
Here’s Saint Peter, holding the Keys to the Kingdom.
First of all, we stood in line. You have to go through metal detectors to get in. It’s free to get in, though.
While walking up to the line, Libby came to me, eyes wide and excited. Her enthusiasm didn’t seem to match our destination, so I assumed something else was going on.
“Mom! Mom! Gregg Sulkin is here! And he has David Henrie with him!”
Now, you may remember from my Colosseum post that the kids saw a Disney Channel celebrity and had a picture taken with him. That was Gregg Sulkin. David Henrie is another actor from the same show. I walked up to them, hand out. “Hello, we met at the Colosseum yesterday.”
“Oh, yes. That’s right.” (very smooth or he recognized the odd, middle aged woman in a black, floppy hat)
“My kids were wondering if they could get another picture.”
“Sure!”
Inside, it was a big church. I probably should have been more impressed, but I will blame the Birthday Dinner Burger King I had right before I went in. It made me not concentrate. (Yeah, right!) Saint Peter was inside, too.
So was Michelangelo’s Pieta
I enjoyed this font. The cherubs made me smile.
Many popes are buried here. We saw an Incorruptible Pope, Saint Pius X, who died in 1914. What’s an incorruptible? It’s a body that does not decay even though no special embalming was done to it. (It’s interesting to read about. Do a Google search.)
In the middle of the basilica was an area that was marked off by curtains. I wondered what it was.
Turns out, it’s the area set aside all the time in case the pope wants to come into the church. Here’s an internet picture of him doing that.
The funny part was that a tourist was trying to get a good picture of it and dropped her cell phone into the middle of the area. They had to call a guard.
Not this guy. He guards the doors. (And he actually stopped someone while we were outside!)
I also enjoyed seeing a list of all the Popes. Their names are carved into this large, marble slab.
This is the entrance to the crypt. It was closed when we were there.
Here are a bunch of pictures. I am not even sure what they are, but you can figure out the altar and and a statue and such all on your own.
We also enjoyed taking pictures outside at the gate.
And that is not much information about the most famous church in the world.
