November 20, 2009

Today was all day Catholic Church and Vatican Day. I love old churches, so we spent the morning touring the four major basilicas of Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore, Saint John in Lateran, Saint Paul Outside the Wall, and Saint Peter's. All of the basilicas are simply breath taking, I have a ton of photos, shoot me an email if you want to see them all, but here are a few highlights for the morning tour.

The first of four Jubilee Doors, at Santa Maria Maggiore, that are only opened once every 25 years.


The Scala Sacra, a staircase brought back to Rome by St. Helen, believed to be the steps to Pontious Pilate's Palace that Jesus walked. you can only climb these stairs on your knees.


The Jubilee Door at St. John in Lateran. This Basilica is the Cathedral of Rome, and the Pope's true church.


The Jubilee Door at St. Paul Outside the Wall. Also in this church is the tomb of St. Paul. Very interesting.


And a few pictures inside my favorite church in the world, St. Peter's:



And yes we did touch the other Jubilee door at St. Peter's but for some reason we touched the inside with the cement closure and a cross, so it doesn't look much like a door.

The rest of the afternoon we spent at the Vatican Museum. It was actually interesting because we got to see an entirely different section of the collection.

Here is the Sistine Chapel from the outside. Looks like a fortress....