by Mark Holyoake DAY 13: WEDNESDAY 8TH OCTOBER This morning we assembled in St Peter’s Square with pilgrims from all around the world, to have an audience with the Holy Father. We had the opportunity to visit St Mary Major Basilica. Basilica of St. John in Lateran (First Papal residence) and the adjacent Holy Stairs brought from Jerusalem to Rome in 326AD by St Helena (as a favourite of pilgrims, these steps may only be ascended on the knees). Basilica of Santa Croce in Jerusalem with its extraordinary collection of relics from the Holy Land including a full size replica of the Shroud of Turin. St Clement’s Church where we celebrated Mass and had time to marvel at this wonderful holy site. DAY 14: THURSDAY 9TH OCTOBER After a private Mass at St Peter’s Basilica early this morning, we visited the nearby Vatican Museums for an unforgettable guided tour. Wandered the spectacular chambers leading to the Sistine Chapel to view Michelangelo’s masterpieces, including the magnificent fresco of the Last Judgment. Continued through to the awe inspiring St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world for an informative exploration that featured Michelangelo’s stunning Pieta, the tomb of St Pope John Paul II, the tomb of St John XXIII and the Crypt containing the tombs of several Popes. We then visited the excavations under St Peter’s Basilica – the Necropoli. We descended by foot down into the ruins of an ancient city under the Basilica. The 2 hour experience passing through the ancient excavations and catacombs of the early Christian Church and culminates at the site of the original tomb of St Peter. Also viewed Rome by night and discovered the city’s renowned monuments of the Colosseum alight, the Victor Emmanuel Monument, the Piazza Della Republica, St Peter’s Basilica and Capitol Hill. We also disembarked to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain before strolling to the Piazza Navona to soak up the vibrant atmosphere. Archbasilica ofSt.JohnLateranisthecathedralchurchoftheDioceseofRomeandthe officialecclesiasticalseatoftheBishopofRome,whoisthePope. ThebasilicaofSaintJohnLateranwasbuiltunder PopeMelchiade (Miltiades)in(311314,it’sthe mostancientchurchintheworld. Thepalacebasilicawasconvertedandextended, becomingtheresidenceof PopeStSilvester I,eventuallybecomingthe cathedralofRome,theseatofthepopesas bishopsofRome. TheancientchurchwasresidenceofthePopes until1377whenitwasmovedtotheVatican. Thesestepsmayonlybeascendedontheknees. TheScala Sancta(HolyStairs),areasetof28whitemarble steps.ThestairsleadtotheSanctaSanctorum(Holyof Holies),thepersonalchapeloftheearlyPopesknownas thechapelofSt.Lawrence. AccordingtotheCatholictradition,theyarethesteps leadinguptothepraetorium ofPontiusPilateinJerusalem onwhichJesusChriststeppedonhiswaytotrialduring theeventsknownasthePassion. ThestairswerebroughttoRomebyStHelenamotherof EmperorConstantineIinthefourthcenturyin334A.D. In1589,PopeSixtus Vrelocatedthestepstotheirpresent locationinfrontoftheancientpalatinechapel(theSancta Sanctorum). PopePiusIX(18461878)restoredthestaircase,and promotedit'svenerationasoneofChristianity'sgreat relics.Thepopeclimbedthe28stepsonhiskneesmany times,anactofvenerationdonethatwasdone traditionallythen,andcontinuestothisday.Aprayer relatedtothepassionofJesusChristisreciteduponeach ofthe28steps. TheBasilicaoftheHolyCrossinJerusalemisaRoman CatholicparishchurchandminorbasilicainRome,Italy andoneofthe7PilgrimChurchesofRome. Accordingtotradition,thebasilicawasconsecrated around325tohousethePassionRelicsbroughttoRome fromtheHolyLandbySt.HelenaofConstantinople, motheroftheRomanEmperorConstantineI. Atthattime,thebasilicafloorwascoveredwithsoilfrom Jerusalem,thusacquiringthetitle itisnotdedicatedto theHolyCrosswhichisinJerusalem,butthechurchitself is"inJerusalem"inthesensethata"piece"ofJerusalem wasmovedtoRomeforitsfoundation. BasilicaStCroceinJerusalemhasanextraordinary collectionofrelicsfromtheHolyLandaswellasafull sizedreplicaoftheShroudofTurinwhichisbelievedtobe theburialshroudofJesusofNazareth,Theoriginalshroud iskeptintheroyalchapeloftheCathedralofSaintJohn theBaptistinTurin,northernItaly. TheBasilicaofSaintClementisaRomanCatholicminorbasilicadedicatedtoPopeClementI TraditionholdsthatSaintPeterwascrucifiedatthesiteoftheClementineChapel. Thestructureisathreetiered complexofbuildings: (1) presentbasilicabuiltjust beforetheyear1100during theheightoftheMiddle Ages; (2) beneaththepresent basilicaisa4thcentury basilicathathadbeen convertedoutofthehome ofaRomannobleman,part ofwhichhadinthe1st centurybrieflyservedasan earlychurch,andthe basementofwhichhadin the2ndcenturybriefly servedasamithraeum; (3) thehomeoftheRoman noblemanhadbeenbuilt onthefoundationsofa Thisancientchurchwastransformedoverthecenturiesfromaprivatehomethat republicanerabuildingthat wasthesiteofclandestineChristianworshipinthe1stcenturytoagrandpublic hadbeendestroyedinthe basilicabythe6thcentury,reflectinGtheemergingCatholicChurch'sgrowing GreatFireof64AD. legitimacyandpower. TheVaticanCityistheworld'ssmallestsovereignstateandissituatedentirelywithinthecityofRome Sprawlingoverahillwestof theRiverTiber,VaticanCityis famedforthesightsofSt Peter'sChurch,StPeter's Square,theVaticanitself,the VaticanGardenandofcourse themagnificentStPeter's Basilica. NearStPeter'sstandsthe VaticanPalace,thePope's residence.Amongtheprincipal featuresofthePalacearethe Stanze,theSistineChapeland theVaticanMuseum, containinGmajorworksofart andvaluablepictures. StPeter'sBasilicaisalate Renaissancechurchlocated withinVaticanCity. DesignedprincipallybyDonato Bramante,Michelangelo,Carlo Maderno andGian Lorenzo Bernini,St.Peter'sisthemost renownedworkofRenaissance architectureandremainsoneof thelarGestchurchesintheworld. Therehasbeenachurchonthis sitesincethetimeoftheRoman EmperorConstantinetheGreat. Constructionofthepresent basilica,replacinGtheOldSt. Peter'sBasilicaofthe4thcentury AD,beganon18April1506and wascompletedon18November 1626. PopeFrancis (borninBuenosAires,ArGentinaasJorGeMarioBerGoglio on17December1936)isthe popeoftheCatholicChurch,inwhichcapacityheisBishopofRomeandabsoluteSovereignoftheVaticanCityState. Atthecentre ofthesquareisan Egyptianobelisk,erectedatthecurrent sitein1586. Theobeliskisofredgranite,25.5 metres tall,supportedonbronzelions andsurmountedbytheChigi armsin bronze,inall41metres tothecrosson itstop. Theobeliskwasoriginallyerectedat Heliopolis,Egypt,byanunknown pharaohoftheFifthdynastyofEgypt (c.2494BC–2345BC).Duringits historyofc.4400years(atthestartof the2010s),theobeliskhasbeen successfullymovedthreetimes. Itwasmovedtoitscurrentsiteunder thedirectionofPopeSixtus V.The VaticanObeliskistheonlyobeliskin Romethathasnottoppledsince ancientRomantimes. TraditionholdsthatSaintPeterwascrucifiedatthesiteoftheClementineChapel. HismortalremainsarecontainedintheunderGroundConfessio ofSt.Peter'sBasilica,where PopePaulVIannouncedin1968theexcavateddiscoveryofafirstcenturyRomancemetery. SaintPeterwasoneoftheTwelveApostles ofJesusChrist,leadersoftheearlyChristian Church. Diedc.64ADalsoknownasSimonPeter. TheRomanCatholicChurchconsidershim tobethefirstpope,ordainedbyJesusin the"RockofMyChurch"dialoguein Matthew16:18. Originallyafisherman,heplayeda leadershiproleandwaswithJesusduring eventswitnessedbyonlyafewapostles, suchastheTransfiGuration.Accordingto thegospels,PeterconfessedJesusasthe Messiah,waspartofJesus'sinnercircle, thricedeniedJesus,andpreachedonthe dayofPentecost. AccordingtoChristiantradition,Peterwas crucifiedinRomeunderEmperorNero AugustusCaesar.Itistraditionallyheldthat hewascrucifiedupsidedownathisown request,sincehesawhimselfunworthyto becrucifiedinthesamewayasJesusChrist. Swisssoldiers(TheHelvetians)onguardatthegatesofVaticanCityare troopswhotakeanoathofloyaltytothePope Backintheperiodofthe Renaissanceie in1506 PopeJuliusIIinvitedtoRome theHelvetiansoldiers,who wererenownedfortheir couraGe,noblesentimentsand loyalty. TheSwissCantonsplayedan importantroleinthehistoryof Europeanpoliticsandinfactas alliesofPopeJuliusIIin1512 theyhelpedtoshapeItaly's destinyandweregrantedby thePopethetitleof "DefendersoftheChurch's freedom". TheArmenianSt.Gregoryisrememberedforhisrolein convertinGthenationtoChristianitybackintheyear301. Infact,Armeniabecamethefirstnationtoadopt ChristianityasitsofficialreliGion. ButgettinGtothatpointwasn’teasy.Duringapaganritual, thekingdiscoveredthatGregorywasChristian.As punishmenthewastorturedandsenttothisunderGround wellwherehelivedforoveradecade.Aftermiraculously healingtheking,hewassetfree. AfterhewasreleasedhebaptizedtheArmeniankingand turnedArmeniaChristian. AchurchwasbuiltnearMountAraratinArmenia,nearthe borderwithTurkey,onthesitewherehewasimprisoned. Nowit’soneofthemostpopularpilgrimagesites. The Sistine Chapel is a large and renowned chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1477 and 1480. Since that time, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new Pope is selected. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, and most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo. TheCreationofAdamisafrescopaintingbyMichelangelo,forminGpartofthe SistineChapelceiling,paintedcirca1511–1512 ItillustratestheBiblical creationnarrativefromthe BookofGenesisinwhich GodbreatheslifeintoAdam, thefirstman. Theimageofthenear touchinGhandsofGodand Adamhasbecomeiconicof