In front of St Peter’s in Rome
May Day, the 1st of May, is celebrated throughout Europe. Initially to welcome spring, it is now, at least in Italy, a holiday for the workers and called Labour Day. My sister and I decided to join the crowds at mass in St Peter’s before our planned tour of ‘Crypts and Catacombs’ with Viator tours that afternoon.
A mass of people crammed into the central aisle
We are in this crowd at the back section of St Peter’s.
Inside, the cathedral was packed with onlookers, crowded into the rear section as mass was in progress and tourists were not welcome at that time. Having been raised as Catholics we had no trouble convincing the guards that we intended to participate in the mass, not use our cameras, and generally conduct ourselves with decorum.