MERCY TOURS

                                                   Your Catholic Pilgrimage Resource

                                                  A Spiritual and Cultural experience

                                          St. Peter’s Basilica & The Vatican

                                          

                         

                                    Mercy Tours Inc.             6504 28th Street S.E.  Suite Q              Grand Rapids, Michigan  49546

                                                                  Tel:       1-877-404-4240        616-942-4773          fax 616-808-3794                        

Vatican City, which includes only a few hundred people, is the smallest state in the world (covering an area of a little over one square mile), though housed within are some of the most important existing works of art and architecture in the world.  The Vatican State is completely autonomous and independent from the Italian state and has been since 1929, the year the two states signed the Lateran Treaty.  The Pontiff, in addition to being the head of the Apostolic Roman Catholic Church, has full legislative, executive and judicial powers.  The Vatican also has its own police force, consisting of the famous Swiss Guards in their traditional uniforms; it has a philatelic printing house as well as its own newspaper (L’Osservatore Romano); and even its own railway service connecting to the nation-wide network.

Here we find the heart of the Catholic Church for the whole world. The most important relic to be found here is the tomb of St. Peter. Around 64-67 the apostle was martyred on Vatican Hill, crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus was. Michelangelo’s Pieta is one of the most famous sculptures in the world, and is located just inside the entrance to the basilica on the right side. Also contained here is a large piece of the true cross, enclosed in one of the four huge pillars facing the high altar, with the statue of St. Helena in front if it. The lance that pierced the side of Christ is in the pillar nearest the statue of St. Longinus. Above another pillar, and brought out only rarely is Veronica’s Veil, believed to be the very cloth that wiped the face of Jesus on His walk to Calvary.  The high altar is where the pope celebrates Mass. There are numerous papal tombs in the crypt below the church. Blessed Pope John XXIII was in the crypt until his beatification, when his tomb was opened and his body was found to be incorrupt. There is a chapel being constructed in the upper Basilica in his honor.

The magnificent St. Peter’s Square with the ancient Egyptian obelisk, which contains a relic of the cross of Christ, and fountain of Carlo Maderno - all surrounded by Bernini’s colonnade, leaves one breathless. When the pope is in Rome, audiences take place Wednesday mornings in St. Peter’s Square or in the audience hall.