The highlight of our trip to Rome was visiting St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Day.
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| Pope John Paul II at the Vatican |
I was still an inexperienced traveler back then so I didn't think of checking mass schedules online before planning our visit. Despite this, we still headed to the St. Peter's Basilica because even if we weren't able to hear mass, it would still be an incredible spiritual experience to be there for Christmas.
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| Inside St. Peter's Basilica |
We got there in the late morning and when we went inside the church, there was no mass. We said some prayers and then spent our time going around the basilica, enjoying the resplendent interior. Standing majestically inside is Baldacchino di San Pietro, or St. Peter's Baldachin. Designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, it marks the tomb of St. Peter which lies beneath it.
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| St. Peter's Baldachin |
As grand and marvelous as the baldachin is, it was Michelangelo's Pieta that absolutely took my breath away. I can't imagine how a very hard piece material such as marble can be manipulated to look so soft and delicate. This sculpture is truly a masterpiece!
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| Michelangelo's Pieta |
We stepped out of the church before 1pm and when we got out, we were surprised to see a huge crowd. Something was about to happen so we decided to stay.
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| St. Peter's Square on Christmas Day |
As it turned out, this was the annual Christmas message from the Pope. I wrote about this in greater detail before (you can read it here). It's amazing how we didn't plan for this and yet my mom and I got to see the Pope from just a few meters away. We wouldn't have been this close to the Pope if we didn't step out of the church when we did. And we wouldn't have gotten out of the church when we did if we arrived in St. Peter's Basilica much earlier in the day. I'm just really happy we got to have this fantastic and very spiritual experience.
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