The Holy See

I made two trips to Vatican City in the past week. The first was with Josh; we had a free morning together and decided to stroll up there so that I could have my first look. We weren't planning to see the Vatican Museum or anything; we just wanted to take a brief look around. Despite being a lapsed Catholic, I admit that I felt a curiosity - no, a yearning - to see St. Peter's Basilica for myself.

It's an easy walk from the Academy to the Vatican. It's only about twenty minutes, with some of the loveliest views of Rome along the way. The journey ended with us cutting through a bus station, taking a few escalators down the hill and then...we were in Vatican City.

I was overwhelmed. I felt tears threatening, but I could not say exactly why. The enormity of it all just hit me - I was in the holiest place in the Catholic religion, and my emotions just bubbled over. I don't even know if I believe in God. I certainly don't agree, or particularly like, the Catholic Church. But clearly, obviously, it meant something to me, since all this unresolved stuff rose up from my chest, choking me. I was brought to tears. And this was just from setting foot in the City. I hadn't even looked at St. Peter's yet.

My first view of St. Peter's Basilica

I willingly allowed Josh to lead me to St. Peter's Square, glad to have someone else propelling me along so that I could simply look. A large crowd was amassing in the square, and after consulting our guidebook, we learned that the Pope conducts public masses on Wednesday mornings at 10:30am. We were going to see the Pope! We circled around and got in line to enter, waiting our turn for security guards to check my bag and to run metal detectors along our bodies. Then, we were in. Simple as that.

It was an interesting mix of people, there. It's a huge tourist draw, of course. But I've become accustomed to seeing mostly Italians (since we don't live in a touristy area), so it was neat to see people from all over the world. We had gotten in just minutes before the mass was to start, and we could see the Pope arriving in his Pope Mobile, flanked by guards all around, projected on four large screens around the square. I was surprised when the vehicle began to make its way through the square, rather than just going up to the dais. I suddenly got excited. I was going to get close to the Pope! And indeed, I saw people in front of me begin to run to the right, and Josh and I ran, too. And I saw him, barely lifted above the crowd, scarcely thirty feet away. The Pope.

Needless to say, I cried again. But at least I was not alone; I saw several other people wiping their eyes, too.

The following Saturday, I returned to the Vatican with some special visitors: Rachel and Lo (more comprehensive post about their visit to follow)! We decided to see the Vatican Museum, including the Sistine Chapel, and the inside of St. Peter's.

On the whole, our tour of the museum was amazing, but I have never in my life been in a museum that was so densely packed with people. It was insane. The sheer number of people, including large tour groups full of people that stood around and blocked all available paths, was just staggering. At times I ignored the art and just moved, because I needed to get a little space to breathe. My agoraphobia isn't as bad as it used to be, but I was still pushed to my limit.

Wall-to-wall tourists

I took pictures. Many, many pictures. But at some point I think my brain got a little overstimulated by all the art, and I put the camera away. Here's a random mish-mash of photos I snapped:

I took none in the Sistine Chapel, of course, because it's not allowed (well, no flash photography, anyway). None in St. Peter's Basilica, either. I suppose I felt, in both places, that taking pictures was disrespectful, since they are both holy places. I also felt that no single, or even collection, of photos could do justice to the entirety of what I was seeing and experiencing. I was not in the Sistine Chapel for long, as it was too crowded for me. Rachel, Lo and I sneaked out the tour-only exit, pretending we were with a tour, so that we could bypass the hour-long-wait-line outside for St. Peter's. Ha! Rebels. It was totally worth it, since it was 90 degrees that day, and there's absolutely no shade anywhere in that square. St. Peter's was impressively overwhelming, and I was moved to tears again by the sight of The Pietà.

Afterwards, we had some lunch and gelato.  And friends, if you ever go to the Vatican, you simply must go to the Old Bridge Gelateria. I have no photos to share, alas, since our gelato cones were enormous and there was no way that I could both handle that melting monstrosity in the 90 degree heat and manage to snap a picture of it before it melted all over me, my camera, the sidewalk, and the nun next to me.  Suffice it to say that it was heavenly.