Keeping Up With Helen...: My Italy Pilgrimage with Dynamic Catholic

So, no rest for the wicked on this trip! It's Tuesday, November 8 and our schedule says breakfast at 6:00am (yikes!). Buses leave for St. Peter's Basilica at 6:30am and Mass is at 7:15am at St. Peter's Basilica (Altare Di San Giuseppe). According to our itinerary, this basilica was built on the site where St. Peter, the first Pope and Bishop of Rome was martyred. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, was the first Pontiff to visit the necropolis since extensive archaeological excavations were conducted at the ancient site decades ago.

So, it was pretty chilly and we had a long wait (line) to get into the Vatican. However, because our tour organizers were so awesome, we seemed to get in much quicker and easier than the long line we saw in a distance. One of the first things we did was pass through the FIRST of four Jubilee Holy Doors of Mercy (Click HERE to learn about the indulgence gained from walking through a Holy Door during the Jubilee Year of Mercy). Afterwards, we were introduced to our first tour guide who would be with us all during our entire visit in Rome, Tiziana. She was the first of what I call our 'walking encyclopedias' about what we were seeing and experiencing. We were all given devices called 'whispers' (these included an earpiece for listening) that would be used thoughout our pilgrimage so that we could all hear what our guides were sharing (the guides carried the master 'whisper'... kinda like a small walkie talkie. Pretty cool way of communicating with large groups of people.

As a side note, there were about 120 people from all over the US on this pilgrimage. We were divided into three groups of about 40-45 people, including our tour escorts. The distinction was made by colors... I was on the 'blue' bus (figuratively); there was a 'red' bus and a 'green' bus. We all wore lanyards with our names tags attached and our lanyard color was the color of the group we were in. At meal time we all dined together, so we really did get to know each other by socializing at activities outside of the tours themselves. I believe that for the sake of the tours, a smaller group seemed more manageable

So back to the tour, after we walked through the Holy Door, we began our tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistene Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica itself. We got to see Michaelangelo's Pieta (Click HERE for more info and pics), we walked through the Tapestry Gallery (Click HERE to see a short blog on the Tapestrys); and even saw Michaelangelo's Masterpiece: the restored mural of the Last Judgment. All the artwork was very overwhelming and mind boggling! There is no way to describe the beauty, depth and importance of this art. Pictures only tell part of the story. Seeing these masterpieces in real life is an honor, breathtaking and leaves one speechless.

This is a short video I took while we were waiting in line to go to the Vatican.

Fountain in the Square at the Vatican

Walking into the Vatican

Javi, our Tour Escort and Jeanne, my roommate. Notice the 'blue' flag. The 'blue' bus group always followed the 'blue' flag (as opposed to the green and red flags).

Below are miscellaneous pictures I took around the outside of the Vatican. One thing to keep in mind is that the Vatican is a country. Prior to walking onto the grounds of the Vatican, we were in Rome

The view from the front of the Vatican building looking toward Rome.

. . . and now inside the Vatican

Ah-ha! I really WAS there!

The Pieta

The Pieta (again)

Then, near the end of our Vatican tour, we were able to see the tombs of the Pope's, a very sacred place. Most notably, we saw the tomb of St. John Paul II. The following are pictures from that part of the tour.