Tag Archives: Roman Catholic Church

St Peter’s Basilica: Papal Blessing on May Day in Rome

In front of St Peter's in Rome

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

A mass of people crammed into the central aisle

We are in this crowd at the back section of St Peter's.

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.

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The Vatican: Museums and Sistine Chapel

Our guide for the private tour of the Vatican Museums1-DSC01692 (640x426) and the Sistine Chapel, met us in the foyer of the Hotel Farnese at 9am on Saturday, 30th April. Having a guide isn’t necessary, especially for those who were raised in the Catholic school system, but we were promised a short cut from the museums and chapel to the basilica, so it seemed worth the price.

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Decorated floor as we entered the museum corridors

 

 

Once inside the museum, Annalivia insisted on providing a twenty minute history lesson about the church and the papacy (most of which we knew) and describing the sections of Michelangelo’s ceiling, because, as we discovered later, speaking is not permitted in the chapel. One interesting snippet that I didn’t know, was that St Peter’s Basilica was only built after the popes returned from Avignon. Started in 1506, it was opened in 1626. Before that, the main papal church was on the other side of the river, in St John’s, which (I hope I’ve got this right) is still part of the Vatican territory, even though it’s outside their walls.

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