December 23-29, 2005 issue.
On Wednesday morning we get up early and dress in our Sunday best. There are people already queued up to enter the temporarily enclosed square when we arrive at St. Peter's. We have to clear a detector machine and submit our handbags for a perfunctory search. Security has been tight since John Paul II was the target of an assassination attempt.
It's early so we find good seats and while waiting, we let our eyes roam and admire the beautiful colonnade by Bernini, the dome of St. Peter's originally designed by Michaelangelo, and the Swiss Guards in their striped uniform and beret.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's symmetrical colonnade consists of four rows of 300 Doric columns. Built during the papacy of Urban VIII, Bernini decribed his work as "the motherly arms of the church" because of its shape. It is just one of many projects he completed in his busy lifetime. The father of Baroque art, he also designed the baldacchino which is the bronze canopy supported by twisting columns covering the high altar inside St. Peter's Basilica.
The Pieta (Mary and dead Christ) by Michaelangelo is in the first chapel to the right as you enter the main doors of the Basilica. In the past, it was possible to approach the Pieta for a close up look. It is behind protective glass today after a vandal tried to damage it in the 70's.
The faithful rises when the Pope makes an appearance in his motorized vehicle. Accompanied by bodyguards, he goes around the piazza to greet the multitude before he proceeds to the platform in front of the Basilica. He reads his welcome address and at times, he pauses for a few mnutes to catch his breath before continuing. He is in frail health. Then he blesses us and extends this blessing to our families back home. We are moved by this profound experience, as are many in the crowd, and tears well up in our eyes.
We spend the rest of the day in the Vatican museums with its dizzying collection of art spanning the ages. Many popes were great patrons of the arts and recognized the talented artists of their day by contracting them to work on various projects in the church. Pope Julius II, the warrior pope, had both Raphael and Michaelangelo working for him at the same time. Raphael painted the papal apartments while a reluctant Michaelangelo was assigned to fresco the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
The Sistine Chapel is the venue for the election of a new pope. Michaelangelo and his assistants labored for four years under difficult conditions to complete the fresco on the curved ceiling. Work was stopped for almost a year while Michaelangelo waited for Julius II to return from war and recover from an illness. Restored between 1980 and 1989 amidst controversy, the ceiling shows the brilliant colors Michaelangelo applied after hiding under soot for centuries. Of about three hundred figures he painted, I find the Prophets and Sibyls to be exceptional works considering their sculptural quality, the dynamic colors of their flowing gowns and the rather tricky poses Michaelangelo sketched to bring his subjects to life.
Nearly 22 years after completing work on the ceiling, Michaelangelo began painting the Last Judgement behind the altar at the behest of Pope Paul III. The exuberance of the ceiling contrasts with the more subdued mood of the altar. To the left of Jesus are the damned souls on their way to hell while to his right are the virtuous ascending to heaven.
I am in heaven at this very moment. My spirit soars to new heights when I behold great art. And to be surrounded by it is to be twice blessed.
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Papal audience: This may be arranged through your parish or through the North American College in Rome, phone: 06-690-011, fax 06-679-1448; email [email protected]. Tickets must be requested as early as possible to ensure space availability. Pick up tickets on Tuesday afternon between
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Via dell'Umita, 30.
