Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Seasons of Grace

Home
Catholic
Secret Spaces: A Peek Into the Apostolic Palace

Secret Spaces: A Peek Into the Apostolic Palace

Last updated on: December 17, 2015 at 10:03 am by Kathy Schiffer

Secret Spaces: A Peek Into the Apostolic Palace 2015-12-17T10:03:58-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I have Rome Fever.

It usually takes a bit longer to set in—I was, after all, stumbling on the cobblestones just three months ago. But the news that St. Peter’s Square is about to undergo a major renovation has me thinking: I’ve gotta see that!!

The restoration project, which was just announced in L’Osservatore Romano, is expected to take 30 months. The Bernini columns are being restored “in all of their original color and brilliance”—SAY WHAT?! Didn’t you always assume that those giant white columns along the colonnade, the great marble arms encircling St. Peter’s Square, had always been a pristine white?!

The ambitious construction project will restore and preserve

284 columns,
92 pillars,
140 statues,
6 papal coats of arms,
1200 meters of balustrade and crown moldings, and
3,400 square meters of paneled ceilings.

Also up for a facelift, the two great fountains which grace the Square:

the Clementina and
the Gregoriana.

And of course, the project will include the red granite Egyptian obelisk which once
overlooked the Circus of Nero, where Christians were martyred, and which was installed at the center of the Square in 1586 at the direction of Pope Sixtus V. And of course, they’ll gussy up the 18th century lamps around the obelisk.

This is a Big Project! It’ll take so long, in fact, that I don’t need to start packing yet—but another Rome trip has just made it onto my “To Do” List.

* * * * *

In the meantime, with the sights and sounds of the Eternal City stirring memories, I went through some old photos and I offer—first time ever!—a peek into some of the seldom-visited corners of the Apostolic Palace.

It’s hard to imagine that I ever walked the hallowed halls of the Apostolic Palace. In my years planning pilgrimages for Legatus, we typically had seating on the dais beside the Holy Father during the Wednesday General Audience. In 2004, however, Pope John Paul II was sick with the flu and missed the Audience. He was replaced that week by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who received us in the Paul VI Hall due to inclement weather. By week’s end, the pope had recovered and we asked, Was there any chance that we could visit on Saturday, before we returned to the United States?

Wonder of wonders, Bishop James Harvey, the pope’s personal secretary at the Prefecture of the Papal Household, replied in the affirmative. He wondered, Could we come to the Apostolic Palace?

Well, Y-E-S!!! Yes, we could do that!!!

On Saturday morning, our group lined up at the Bronze Door, an imposing door at the rear of the right colonnade. We were greeted by the Swiss Guard, the soldiers who guard the Holy Father, their colorful uniforms designed by Michelangelo. The guards stood at attention, then struck the floor with their halberds, or pole weapons—the echo evoking ahh’s from our group of excited pilgrims.

Once cleared, we were led up a long staircase. At the top of the stairs was a trompe l’oeil (French: “fool the eye”) painting which made it appear as though the path continued onward a great distance. Unfortunately, I can’t find a photo of the art; so here, for your entertainment and edification, is another trompe l’oeil work which graces the ceiling of the Vatican Museum.

Once at the top, we were led to an open walkway which faced onto the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. Here we were to wait until a contingent including the President of the Philippines completed their state visit. I know that the elaborate frescoes in this hallway are rarely seen, and so I’ve included some here.

Finally, we passed through a gauntlet of Swiss Guards, bayonettes held in an arch over our heads. We were led through several small galleries where we gawked at the Throne of Constantine, two of the four existing tapestries designed by the artist Raphael, and countless works of precious art. Finally, we entered the Papal Library, where the pope receives heads of state and foreign dignitaries. I recall that the room had just been remodeled, the wallpaper was fresh and there was a strong smell of wet paint.

Pope John Paul II was seated at the end of the room, beneath a large painting of Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven. We were each introduced by name; when I approached, my former boss Tom Monaghan said, “Your Holiness, this is Kathy Schiffer, an executive of Legatus.” I bent and kissed his ring, and he gave me his personal blessing.

That’s all folks—What else could a person say, EVER, after that moment?

In case you’re still not tired of All Things Roma, here is a video of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day 2010. The largest of the six bells in the bell room is the Campanone, and its note is E3. The Campanone was cast in 1786 by Luigi Valadier and blessed by Pope Pius VI in the same year. Since 1931, the bells have been operated electrically; they are rung at Christmas and Easter, on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and every time the Pope delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” message to the city and the world. We heard them this year at the Beatification of Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Previous Post

August 11, 2011

Edmund Cardinal Szoka: Forty Years of Episcopal Leadership

Next Post

August 14, 2011 Jesus’ “Mean Streak”: Testing the Canaanite Woman

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What theme is common in both Psalms and Proverbs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Battle victories Genealogies Temple rituals The fear of the Lord