topic Re: St. Peter's Basilica in Community Chat

St. Peter's Basilica

qualitygal — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:12:11 GMT

I hope I spelled that right.

I have a passion now to see this on You Tube. I'm so thankful that I can do that. It's amazing.

Now that is a place I'd love to see in person!!

Have you been to see it?

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

jlkz — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:06:41 GMT

Basilica

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

godi — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:17:07 GMT

Yes DH and I were there blessed twice to be there. It's so beautiful. This was a bucket list place for me.

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

haddon9 — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:20:45 GMT

@qualitygal Yes I've been there twice. Once we went on a Mediterranean cruise in 2009 and one of the places that we toured was in Rome. We were limited in time but stopped at St. Peter's Basilica.....the second time was two years later. My son spent a semester in Rome and his apartment was in the neighborhood near the Vatican....amazing experience for him! He got to go see it several times.

The second time we had much more time to explore and we also saw the Sistine Chapel.

It it huge! From what I remember Michelangelo's Pietà is close to where you enter and it was so incredible to see a Michelangelo work of art right in front of me! The ceilings are so high. There are Roman numerals near the top of he dome that seem small but each one is the height of an adult! One can explore for hours if not days.

Outside in St. Peter's Square the ground has huge cobblestones....one needs comfortable shoes and I can remember seeing a woman walking around the square wearing spike heels....I would have twisted my ankle!

It's also another huge space and I think the Pope has an apartment overlooking the square.

I'm so glad I got the chance to go. Who knows if we'll be able to do that sort of travel again? I sure hope so!

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

Yahooey — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:33:29 GMT

yes - I've been there twice -

first time 25 years ago and the last was 10 years

always breathtaking

all of Italy is beautiful - the people, history, art and the food

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

twinsister — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 13:01:34 GMT

Yes, I have been there and it is amazing. There is so much to take in and I remember I was in awe of everything I saw. It is one of those places that having seen pictures or on TV, you can't believe you are actually there in person.

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

kaydee50 — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 13:19:14 GMT

Yes, a few times. It is awesome! Along with the Sistine Chapel. Hope you get to see it in person someday @qualitygal !!!!

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

Patriot3 — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 13:43:51 GMT

@qualitygal wrote:
I hope I spelled that right.

I have a passion now to see this on You Tube. I'm so thankful that I can do that. It's amazing.

Now that is a place I'd love to see in person!!

Have you been to see it?

@qualitygal Yes, been there. Everything is so huge!! Seeing it on TV is nothing like seeing it in person. Magnificent!!

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

qualitygal — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:09:22 GMT

Thank you for the correct spelling, and good to hear, so many have you have seen it in person, plus the surrounding areas also. How wonderful!!!

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

proudlyfromNJ — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:28:37 GMT

I was there in the early seventies when there was not strict security. I remember the Sistine Chapel the most. So beautiful. We returned the next day which was Sunday and wandered around and came upon the Pope giving Mass inside the Basilica.

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

candyagain — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 15:43:42 GMT

I worked in Rome for a month and visited the Cistine Chapel and St. Peter's as often as I could. I would stand in front of Michelangelo's Pieta transfixed. The most beautiful and poignant work of art for me. A work of genius and devotion.

Pope John the 22nd's tomb was also a frequent stop.

I hope you can go in person someday, the sheer size of the basilica can't be experienced on screen. It's immense!

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

vsm — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 17:26:32 GMT

@candyagain wrote:
I worked in Rome for a month and visited the Cistine Chapel and St. Peter's as often as I could. I would stand in front of Michelangelo's Pieta transfixed. The most beautiful and poignant work of art for me. A work of genius and devotion.

Pope John the 22nd's tomb was also a frequent stop.

I hope you can go in person someday, the sheer size of the basilica can't be experienced on screen. It's immense!

I feel the same way you do, @candyagain , about the Pieta. I saw it as a child at the NY World's Fair in the 1960s. We had to stand on a rolling platform, so I could only glimpse it in awe for a few seconds. How I envy you for getting to gaze at it in the Sistine Chapel!

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

patbz — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 17:33:13 GMT

@vsm : I also saw the Pieta for the first time at Worlds Fair. The next year I saw it in Vatican; the natural setting is so much better!

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

LindaSal — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:21:32 GMT

We were fortunate to also do a Mediterranean cruise in 2013 and stopped in Rome.

We did get to visit the Vatican and see the Sistine Chapel but there was a mass going on in the Basilica and we were not able to enter. It is truly a breathtaking place to see.

We were actually there during a pilgrimage so it was wall to wall people and really difficult to enjoy what was around us. If we have an opportunity we may try again someday, I'll be sure to research it first and go at a better time of year. Either way, it was a blessing and we did our best to absorb all we could at the time.

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

kittykatkay — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:28:14 GMT

I would so love to go to Rome (and any city in Italy), but I wish I could go to Jerusalem most of all. I would love to visit all these historical places.

I am so glad most of you have visited St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.....what a wonderful memory to have close to your heart.

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

proudlyfromNJ — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:31:56 GMT

@vsm wrote:
@candyagain wrote:
I worked in Rome for a month and visited the Cistine Chapel and St. Peter's as often as I could. I would stand in front of Michelangelo's Pieta transfixed. The most beautiful and poignant work of art for me. A work of genius and devotion.

Pope John the 22nd's tomb was also a frequent stop.

I hope you can go in person someday, the sheer size of the basilica can't be experienced on screen. It's immense!
I feel the same way you do, @candyagain , about the Pieta. I saw it as a child at the NY World's Fair in the 1960s. We had to stand on a rolling platform, so I could only glimpse it in awe for a few seconds. How I envy you for getting to gaze at it in the Sistine Chapel!

@vsm That's where I saw it for the first time also. At the Worlds Fair.

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

proudlyfromNJ — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:35:02 GMT

@kittykatkay wrote:
I would so love to go to Rome (and any city in Italy), but I wish I could go to Jerusalem most of all. I would love to visit all these historical places.

I am so glad most of you have visited St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.....what a wonderful memory to have close to your heart.

@kittykatkay We did a weeks tour of The Holy Land many years ago when I worked for the airlines. It was awesome to see so many wonderful historical sites there.

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

kittykatkay — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:41:51 GMT

@proudlyfromNJ wrote:
@kittykatkay wrote:
I would so love to go to Rome (and any city in Italy), but I wish I could go to Jerusalem most of all. I would love to visit all these historical places.

I am so glad most of you have visited St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.....what a wonderful memory to have close to your heart.
@kittykatkay We did a weeks tour of The Holy Land many years ago when I worked for the airlines. It was awesome to see so many wonderful historical sites there.

@proudlyfromNJ ...OH WOW!!!! I envy you!!! I know it must have not only been breathtaking but just beautifully spiritual as well. Lucky you and thanks for sharing, sweetie.

Re: St. Peter's Bascilicia

golding76 — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 21:05:15 GMT

Like godi, I have had the good fortune to have visited St. Peter's Basilica twice.

During my second visit, I (along with 2,000 other souls) had an audience with Pope Paul VI. The most beautiful part of this audience experience was that I had purchased several religious objects at the Vatican that the Pope blessed during this mass audience.

One was very, very special: My dear uncle, a Catholic married to my mother's sister, was dying of cancer. I bought a Rosary for him. At that time, I lived in Miami, so when I returned home, I mailed the Rosary to him in Pennsylvania, where he lived.

My aunt said he was so filled with joy when he received it that he wept and would not let it go. He was buried holding that Rosary.

Re: St. Peter's Basilica

shoesnbags — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 20:20:51 GMT

@qualitygal

Yes, I was there twice, before 911, when there were not many restrictions (other than clothing!). We were not part of a tour group and were allowed to wander around on our own, accompanied by our two children. We went to an area underneath the church where popes and bishops were buried centuries ago. Fantastic. But as so many posters have said, standing in front of the Pieta was my most outstanding memory of our visit. It was breathtaking.
Now I have to hunt up that album and look at the pictures again.