Travel: Italy (Day Nine)

Today was the Vatican and there was so much that it is difficult to know where to begin. The morning was a tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel and the afternoon was a tour of the Scavi (below the main altar of St. Peter’s). You are not allowed to take pictures of the Sistine or the Scavi, so the ones I have were pulled from the internet. I just want to show you what I saw and will comment a few times along the way.

I exited the Vatican at this point and hooked up with Heidi and Scott for lunch. Lunch was nothing to take a picture of but it did fill the hungry zone. We wandered for an hour and then returned to the Vatican for our tour of the Vatican Necropolis (aka – Scavi). These are the catacombs below St. Peter’s that go back to the time before Christ and come forward to the time of Constantine.

It is a fascinating piece of history where you can begin to see the transition from Paganism to Christianity, but after walking through the narrow hallways and low arches…

…you arrive at a darker area where you peer through glass to a small niche about ten feet away and there in an unadorned brass/bronze box are twenty-two bones belonging to The Rock, St. Peter. The inscription above reads, Petros Eni (Greek) translated, “Peter Lies Within”. I teared up then and I’m tearing up now just thinking about it. Catholic/Protestant, the roots of our Faith are rooted deeply in this place.

We returned through to the surface by walking through the grotto where the remains of so many Popes are in interned and came into the Basilica of St. Peter. It is just… I got nothin’. I’m so glad that I get to go back on Friday because I just wasn’t ready to take more in. I was spiritually fried after being so close to one who had been so near to Jesus.

Tomorrow will likely prove to be as moving. I will be visiting the tomb of St. Josemaria Escriva in the morning and St. Paul in the afternoon. I’ll think about that then. For now, I will leave you with a picture of the Queen who is apparently doing quite well.

St. Peter may have his throne but this Queen is the one that currently rules. She is eating well and doing well.

May the Lord bless you all.