Vatican

      During our week at the Vatican we went to St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel and we also were able to attend the Papal Audience.  Out of everything we have done so far in Rome, this week has been the most profound.  Out of all the churches we have seen since October, St Peter’s was by far the largest and the most awe inspiring.  There were huge stone statutes and there was also Michelangelo’s Pieta.  The Papal Audience was something I never would have thought I would have been able to attend before this trip and it was packed with people.  Everyone there seemed to have their nation’s flag as they shouted enthusiastically.  They came from all over the world and they also sang.  It was never quiet before the pope appeared and when he came out everyone stood up and cheered.  It felt like I was at a major sporting event.  I have never been to a religious event that was like that.  It was the very opposite of the subdued version people associate with ‘church’.  Through this all the question comes up: how does the Catholic Church relate to Rome and how in turn does it then relate to the world.

                While in Rome it seems clear that the Catholic Church comprises a much of the city’s past as well as its future.  Although Vatican City is a separate entity, it is still within Rome and still affects it.  All the art work and the churches in Rome are a product of this.  And while in Rome a person does feel more religious.  I feel more religious here than I do back in Ohio.  You would be hard pressed to avoid religion in Rome where there are so many stories connected to it.  Also, as I stated before, people come from all over to visit Rome and it might not just be for touristic reasons; it could be to get more out of their religion and become more spiritually connected with it.  I realized that more while listening to the pope and hearing everyone cheer behind me.  People come to Rome for all the churches and all the history associated with it sometimes.

                As for the rest of the world, I would still say that the Church is related.  There are churches in Ohio, and of course the rest of the world, but they’re not as numerous nor as opulent(at least the common ones in Ohio, I have seen some impressive ones however) as the ones here.  The fact that the pope lives in the Vatican also plays a major role.  The most I have ever seen at home is a bishop, and there’s always a celebration when he comes.  However in Rome, seeing one doesn’t seem like such a big deal.  Not with the pope right there.  So the power of the Church seems much stronger and more influential while in Rome because it’s almost as if you see things happening even if you always don’t.  In Ohio bishops, priests, etc, are given instructions by the pope, but it doesn’t seem to possess the same feel or importance.  We don’t have the same culture either.  We don’t have works of art or ancient churches that really do seem to inspire.

                The Church, for me, has more meaning in Rome than in anywhere else, because of the pope, the artwork and the churches( that have been transformed and created out of old pagan temples).  There’s simply more history here to back everything up.  Not only that and perhaps the most important is that the pope is here, the most influential person within the Church itself.