Vatican City The Catholic State

On the 18th of May 2011...we continued our sightseeing of Rome on the tour bus and got to Vatican City....the state that holds all the Catholic treasures. Since I became a Catholic in September 1984 I have always wanted to visit this city. Every time there was something shown on TV about the Vatican I would be glued to it. And this day was so special for me that I have arrived to absorb the wonder of it all. We arrived at about 10am and purchased tickets to see the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel and we had to wait for a guide to take us in. So we took some photos and enjoyed the beautiful sun shining and the cool winds blowing.

In front of Vatican City

And I always asked myself whether I will ever get the chance to see The Pope...and guess what we did. We were so blessed because it was a Wednesday and The Holy Father gives his Papal Address to the people who come to visit The Vatican. We saw him coming in his Pope Mobile and waving to everyone and then taking his seat to address the crowd...first in Italian. And then it was time to move on because our guide had come.

People cheering as The Pope arrived

The Pope greeting the people in the square

The guide took us into the Vatican Museum and all our belongings were scanned....actually we were going into another country as The Vatican is the smallest country in the world with a population of 400 people. The Vatican Museum was awesome.... the Vatican Museum or  Musei Vaticani in Viale Vaticano in Rome, inside the Vatican City, are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. And what we saw was unbelievable and the photos will best explain it.

Some of the Greek Sculptures

The ceilings were adorned with sculptures and paintings



One of the many paintings on the walls



It took us about one and a half hours to walk through the museum before we came to the most sacred place....The Sistine Chapel...which is part of the Apostolic Palace where the Pope resides. Deservedly one of the most famous places in the world, the Sistine Chapel is the site where the conclave for the election of the popes and other solemn pontifical ceremonies are held.The vaulted ceiling is entirely covered by the famous paintings which Michelangelo painted between 1508 and 1512 for Julius II...of which the most famous was the Creation of Man..and it is right in the middle of the ceiling. The painting of The Last Judgement was on the main wall and it was really heart searching.The chapel was so crowded with tourists but we managed to find a place to sit to say a prayer. We could not take any photos inside but this is what it looks like

Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling

The painting of the Last Judgement

The inside of The Sistine Chapel

After that we went outside and lined up to go into St Peter's Basilica...the line was so long but we just waited as the weather was so fine. We met a couple from Denmark...and we even saw a Malaysian flag being held by one of the pilgrims. And then we were finally in.......and what an awesome sight and it was so sacred inside. And I turned to my right and there it was..The Pieta by Michelangelo...what a beautiful sculpture...Mother Mary holding Jesus in her arms after His crucifixion. I have always been awed by this sculpture and I am finally seeing it. Then we moved on and there was a chapel with the body of Blessed Pope John Paul 11 was lying in his closed tomb. They had exhumed his body from the original tomb and placed it there for his beatification. We moved on and there was so much to see...some Popes who had died and placed in glass coffins...and the bodies look so normal after all these years. The altar was huge and so very sacred....and there were so many chapels and sculptures... St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.^. It is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites.  It is also the burial site of St Peter...one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.

The Pieta by Michelangelo

The tomb of Pope John Paul 11

The sacred altar of the Church

After we had visited the basilica we went outside and we saw the ever famous Swiss guards and we went on to see an exhibition of the life of Blessed Pope John Paul 11...and it was so lovely to read about his life and seeing some of his personal belongings.

The famous Swiss Guards of The Vatican

Vatican Post Office

At the exhibition of Pope John Paul 11

After a full day at the Vatican we went for dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant where the food and ambiance was great...thanks Mel for the treat. Coming to Vatican City has made me treasure my faith as a Catholic and I will always thank God for this beautiful blessing...and to top it all I saw The Pope in his home ground!