Getting Blessed Benedict Style!

We were lucky enough that the Pope was in town during our visit so we could be a part of the Papal Audience. It was a really early day as we were picked up from the hotel at 7am then transported to St. Peter’s Square. Once there we learned that the Pope would speak to us indoors in one of the Vatican auditoriums instead of the Square (personally I think it would have been cooler outdoors but who am I to complain). From about 9 to 11am we pretty much waited for the Pope as people from all over the world took their seats. It was kind of like a concert or sporting event. People had country flags, hats, etc. and would occasionally break out into songs or cheers. One of the funnest groups were from Africa who actually got onto stage and performed – with drums, singing, and dancing! When the Pope came onto stage there was so much energy in the auditorium....like he was a Rock Star. He spoke for about an hour. Most of it we couldn’t understand but some of it was interpreted in different languages (English was one of them) by different Cardinals of the church acting as translators. Each Cardinal (translator) would start by welcoming groups from their respective countries. Most of the groups were affiliated with a Church or a school and they would all stand and cheer or sing while the Pope waved his blessings to them. We didn’t get a personal shout out….although we like to think we were part of the “Pilgrims from America” group! :) Seeing the Pope and receiving his blessings was quite an experience I must say and one that we didn’t really think we would have the opportunity to see. It was even cooler that Darshan’s dad was with us as he has been a Professor of Religion and Philosophy for over 40 years. Actually he understood a lot more of the speech than any of the rest of us did for sure. I’ll have to make sure to ask him what we missed. :)

Since not all of us went to see the Pope we waited until the next day to actually see the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. It was the second time seeing all this for both Darsh and I but we were still pretty excited. We hired a tour guide for the day, Daniella, who was amazingly knowledgeable and was even able to answer Darshan’s dad’s questions. It is unreal how many extremely talented artists (Michelangelo, Bernini, Botticelli, Raphael to name a few) worked on different pieces of the Vatican. It is even more amazing that Michelangelo hadn’t even finished a painting (he only sculpted) prior to his work at the Sistine Chapel. Daniella told us that the Pope at that time learned Michelangelo was working on a painting in Florence so hired him for the Sistine Chapel….he learned how to paint from his fellow workers! Apparently his paintings were pretty revolutionary at that time in that they incorporated a 3D type of effect….similar to that of sculptures. (At least this is what we were told....I don't even pretend to know much about art so I could be wrong....)

We walked through the Vatican Museum for hours. I really don’t remember it being so big and the Sistine Chapel was exactly how I remember it….Simply amazing! We then walked into St. Peter’s Basilica which is probably my favorite church. It is huge and grand with extremely ornate, intricate detail. Even though we've seen it before, this time it was even more stunning. We also walked to the top of the Basilica (the Cupola) which in my opinion is a must do. It is a long walk up a very narrow staircase ( I think it was 572 steps but there is an elevator half way if you need) but soooo worth it. It is the highest point in Rome and has ridiculous views of all of Rome. We were lucky that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we got up there….so pretty! And from up so high you could see all the amazing ruins, churches, architecture, piazzas in this great city. It was such a great way to end the day.