Day 4: St. Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel

We had another early morning, but for a very good reason – mass at St. Peter’s tomb! We got to St. Peter’s Square before sunrise. The Christmas tree was lit up and it was very peaceful. We went through security and through our third holy door. We looked around while the priest got ready and then we went underneath St. Peter’s to the chapel that is closest to St. Peter’s tomb. (Archeologists have verified this fact.) The chapel is laid out opposite of most chapels with the short section heading to the altar and the long section to the sides in a nod to how St. Peter requested to be crucified upside down.

After mass, we took our time looking around St. Peter’s. The Pieta is stunning – a statue of Mary holding Jesus after he was crucified made by Michelangelo when he was only 23 years old. It’s behind glass as someone tried to vandalize it with a hammer years ago. We stopped by the tomb of Pope John Paul II. Two in our group went to confession – many different languages were available. Everything is so beautiful in the church – the altar, the pope’s chair, the statues, the paintings. We visited the gift shop and bought a few items, including holy water, that we then had blessed before we left the church.

Outside in the square, we saw the Swiss guard, and then went to mail postcards from the Vatican post office. We had some time to kill before we headed to the Vatican Museum so we grabbed some lunch and looked at the shops. We did stop by the building where you could get a certificate printed out for visiting St. Peter’s during a Jubilee Year. We also saw the Vatican nativity displays.

In the early afternoon, we headed to the Vatican Museum, mostly to see the Sistine Chapel. You do have to walk the entire way through the museum to get to the chapel, which is still a consecrated church. (The pope’s first mass is said here.) There was a lot of beautiful artwork and artifacts along the way to and from the chapel. 

We ended the day meeting back up with our priest friend for gelato to say goodbye. He was heading back to America for the holidays the next day. He did give us some tips for our next day in Assisi.

Day 5: Day trip to Assisi

We took a day trip to Assisi the next day. We took the train and it all went smoothly, even with a connection. The train takes you to Assisi, which is at the bottom of the hill. We grabbed lunch there and tried to stop by St. Mary of the Angels church, which houses inside of it the church that St. Francis built himself, but it was closed. So, we headed up the hill to see the other churches via taxi. (You can walk it, but it would take a bit of time to climb up the hill.)

Our first stop was St. Mary Major where St. Carlo Acutis is venerated. It’s also the spot where St. Francis renounced his family’s wealth. Then, we went to the Basilica of St. Clare where St. Clare is buried. The church also has the remains of her sister, St. Agnes, and a crucifix that spoke to St. Francis. There are also relics from St. Francis and St. Clare like their tunics, a shoe and hair. 

We then headed to the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. It’s at the end of the village at the top of the hill and the church and views are stunning. St. Francis is buried there. The interior of the upper and lower churches is beautiful. There is also a nice, large bookstore there. 

We grabbed a quick pizza dinner and planned to go back down the hill to visit St. Mary of the Angels before heading back to our hotel. By the time we found a taxi, we ran out of time. We had to catch the train as it was the last one for that day. While we were waiting for the taxi, we did get to see part of a Christmas light show at the plaza we were waiting at – it was pretty cool. 

Read about days 6-8 here!