Having gone to Catholic school for 13 years, I am decently familiar with Catholic Church history and tradition. Here in Rome, it has been unbelievable for me realize I am living right next door to the Vatican – a place I have always seen on TV and in religion books but never could imagine in real life. Before arriving, I knew that entering St. Peter’s Basilica, seeing the Pope, and visiting the Sistine Chapel would be top touristic priorities for me. I decided to wait for these experiences, however, until my Dad came to visit.
I try to reflect as frequently as possible on how fortunate I am to have opportunities like this one to explore and learn abroad. I certainly would not have had access to these experiences if it were not for how much my Dad has worked and sacrificed for my sake. That is why I was so excited to share my experience in Rome with him and to show him how grateful I am for the gift of being here. Because Rome is also one of the largest centers of Catholic Church history and modern life, I was happy that my Dad, a devout Catholic, would get to enjoy these aspects of the city. Because he and I have had our differences in the past regarding religious views, I was all the more eager to experience the Vatican with my Dad in order to bridge that gap between us.
Even with my background of religious education, I had a difficult time at first understanding the different aspects of Vatican City and how to go about visiting them. In the end, I came to realize that the main attractions are St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica (the massive domed church located in the square), and The Vatican Museum (which features the Sistine Chapel). The museum is the only of these attractions that requires tickets, which I advise that you purchase ahead of time in order to skip the lines.
The museum was much larger and featured more varied collections than I had anticipated. Besides the expected collections of century old European religious art, the museum also featured 21st century religious works, art from Asia and the Pacific Islands, and even Egyptian sarcophaguses and mummies. Even after spending three or four hours in the complex, we did not see nearly everything. The popularity and the rich collections of the museum naturally draw many visitors, which meant that the museum was extremely crowded at many points, especially with tour groups. My Dad and I chose not to join a tour group so that we could move at our own pace. I enjoyed this freedom but I also think that I might have learned more had we been in the presence of a guide. Audio guides are also available, however, for those who would like the best of both worlds.
The most popular and fantastic spectacle, of course, was the exquisitely painted ceiling of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. The guards of the room prohibited photographs and required silence. My Dad, knowledgeable about the art in the chapel, was able to whisper explanations and interesting facts to me about the biblical scenes above us. I was fascinated to hear that, because of the carbon from the candles burned in the chapel over centuries, the paintings had turned very dark. Art historians and teachers assumed and taught that this dark style was part of Michelangelo’s technique, only to learn after cleanings and restorations that they were wrong.
After our morning at the museum and then an enjoyable lunch break, we proceeded to the line to enter St. Peter’s Basilica. Although entry is free, the lines leading up to the security checkpoints can be up to an hour long. Luckily, because we had visited on a Thursday, the wait wasn’t too bad. The basilica itself ended up being my favorite part of our tour. Having been in countless other Cathedrals in the U.S. and around Europe, I was not expecting to see anything too much different. Once witnessing the sheer size and grandeur of St. Peter’s, however, I was proven wrong. I was also fascinated to see the tombs of St. Pope John Paul II and of St. Peter, one of the apostles of Christ who lived over 2,000 years ago. As we slowly walked around the immense church, I was intrigued by the different crowds that were drawn to this site. I watched a couple theology students from the U.S. getting excited over the grave of a pope with whom I was unfamiliar. I saw families in matching shirts presumably on a family reunion vacation. There were tourists from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and other vastly different places. Presumably, many of these tourists were Catholic and many were not, but everyone appreciated the rich beauty and history that the grand basilica had to offer.
Lastly, my Dad and I decided to pay an extra few Euros to climb the narrow spiral staircase up to the top of the Basilica’s dome. The climb was about a half hour long and, as someone who loves exploring but is fearful of heights, I was a bit challenged. Nevertheless, in the end the view from the top was stunning. We looked down on St. Peter’s Square at the Egyptian obelisk in the center and the statues of popes and saints around it. We got a bird’s eye view of the Vatican gardens and we tried (unsuccessfully) to spot the pool that, according to my Dad, Pope John Paul II had built for himself and his guests. The dome offered a gorgeous view of the rest of Rome as well, making the hike up well worth the effort.
By the time we had finished our tour of Vatican City, we had spent nearly the whole day there. We did end up returning to St. Peter’s Square, however, the following Sunday to hear Pope Francis give a short speech and blessing from his bedroom window, as he does at noon on most Sundays. Although the Pope spoke in Italian which I could not understand and although he was no more than a speck in the window from our vantage point, I was in awe being in the presence of such an influential world figure. And most of all, sharing this experience with my Dad and watching him enjoy experiencing things about which he cares very deeply made these moments truly unforgettable.
