A Georgia Girl in Germany

After recuperating from our late night with Christmas Eve midnight mass with the pope, we headed back to St. Peter’s Square for the midday Christmas Day papal blessing. Benjamin was still a little groggy, so the stroller came in very handy.

We had a little time before the blessing, so were able to walk through the square to get a better view of it during the daylight. The kids stood in front of the Vatican Christmas Tree again, with St. Peter’s Basilica visible in the background.

There was a huge nativity in the center of the square. I don’t remember where this one came from, but each year a new nativity is on display, donated from around the world. It was absolutely beautiful. I had to look at it both before and after the blessing just to take it all in.


The kids seemed drawn to one of the fountains in the middle of the square, heading close to the water before and after the blessing. The 140 marble statues of saints looking down upon the piazza from the colonnade surrounding St. Peter’s Square are graduated in size, with the larger ones closer to the basilica and the smaller ones nearer the Via della Conciliazione -- Road of the Conciliation -- to create an optical illusion and emphasize the importance of St. Peter’s Basilica.




The colonnade here is at the corner of the courtyard immediately in front of the basilica. If you look closely, you can see the balcony from where the pope was to give his blessing toward the left with the basilica dome behind the balcony. The Swiss Guards also entered from under this part of the colonnade.

St. Peter’s Basilica is huge. The façade is 376 feet wide and 149 feet high, which really made the pope look small when he came out on the balcony. On top are statues of Christ, John the Baptist and 11 of the apostles. Two clocks are on either side of the top, the one on the left has been operated electrically since 1931, with its oldest bell dating to 1288.


Before the pope came out, there was a huge procession of many people in different uniforms. A band wearing blue robes entered first, followed by the Swiss Guards in their Renaissance-styled uniforms. The official dress uniform is blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly Renaissance appearance. A repeated historical misconception is that this uniform was designed by Michelangelo, when in fact it was created by Commandant Jules Repond in 1914. The individuals in striped uniforms are NCO’s, while the individual in red is an officer.



The procession was large and long. Talk about ceremonial pomp! It certainly was impressive though...as it should be.




I don’t know who these next groups were -- men in black robes accented with red, a military-looking unit wearing uniforms that resemble naval uniforms, and another group of men -- this group wearing black and red robes.


The Swiss Guards stood watch as the procession continued with another group wearing black robes with yellow accents.

The individuals wearing red pants and black tops are also members of the Swiss Guard. The individual with the red above his helmet is a sergeant and the one with the white above his helmet is a sergeant major.

This is the Apostolic Palace, also known as the Papal Palace or the Palace of the Vatican. It’s the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican and includes a collection of rooms, both private and state. The pope lives on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace, which has served as the religious residence of the pope since the 17th century. The pope's bedroom is the second window from the right on the top floor. The people atop the colonnade here seemed to have the best view of the pope during the blessing...we certainly didn’t qualify for getting up there.

These are the statues directly above the balcony where the pope gave his blessing.

Right at noon, Pope Benedict XVI walked out on the balcony and began his Christmas Day blessing.


We found a pretty good spot to stand and watch (it was near the bathrooms, and fortunately all three kids had just previously finished using the facilities so we didn’t have to stand in line or miss any of the blessing to answer calls of nature). We were just in front of a jumbo-closed-circuit TV screen, which gave us a better view of the pope. If you look closely, you can barely make him out on the balcony just behind the screen.




We didn't have programs for the blessing like we did for the midnight mass the night before. However, I found a transcript of the BBC's coverage that summarized the service (see below).

Pope Urges Mid-East Peace Efforts
Pope Benedict XVI has called for fresh efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and Africa, in his traditional Christmas message to pilgrims in Rome.

The Pope spoke of the "many grave crises and conflicts" in the Middle East and voiced "hope that the way will be opened to a just and lasting peace." He also deplored the conflicts in Darfur and other parts of Africa. He lamented the many deaths from hunger and disease around the world in "an age of unbridled consumerism." The Pope noted man's scientific advances in the modern age, but added that in the 21st Century "perhaps he needs a saviour all the more" because so much of humanity was still suffering. His "Urbi et Orbi" speech was delivered from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is his second Christmas as pontiff. The Pope contrasted scientific breakthroughs such as the internet and decoding of the human genome with what he called the "heart-rending cry" for help from those dying of hunger, thirst, disease and poverty.

Some people remain enslaved, others are victims of religious or racial hatred, he noted. The threats to the individual's personal and moral integrity had become more insidious in the modern age, the Pope said. His earlier Midnight Mass sermon focused on the plight of suffering children. He singled out those forced to fight as child soldiers, to beg and those "who suffer deprivation and hunger" and "children who are unloved."

MIDDLE EAST FOCUS
The Middle East turmoil was a central theme of the Pope's Christmas message. "I place in the hands of the divine Child of Bethlehem the indications of a resumption of dialogue between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which we have witnessed in recent days, and the hope of further encouraging developments," he said. He also issued an "appeal to all those who hold in their hands the fate of Iraq, that there will be an end to the brutal violence that has brought so much bloodshed to the country". His message was broadcast live on television to more than 40 countries. He said he would like to visit the Holy Land as soon as circumstances permit.

After about 30 minutes, he was finished and the bells began to ring.

Then the long ceremonial procession of Swiss Guards and others began in reverse.


It seemed crowded in the square, but the crowds quickly dissipated. You can see the obelisk from the Circus of Nero next to the Vatican Christmas Tree in the middle of St. Peter’s Square, above the heads of the throngs of people leaving the Vatican.

Once again, the kids gravitated toward one of the fountains. By this time, Benjamin was ready to get out of his stroller, and he made a beeline for the fountain.

Below is a view of St. Peter’s Basilica looking down the Via della Conciliazione. This is actually the most disliked avenue in Rome. Benito Mussolini and the Fascist Architecture movement destroyed 22 Medieval and Renaissance buildings and tore down dozens of homes, walls and streets between 1936 and 1950 to create this avenue with the stunning view of the basilica. The original maze of buildings and winding streets had conversely allowed visitors the opportunity to literally turn a corner and stumble into St. Peter’s Square with the basilica overwhelming them with immediate awe. I imagine that would have been a beautiful way to first see St. Peter’s Basilica, but I also like how it’s framed by this avenue.

This view of St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Angelo’s Bridge from over the Tiber River is one of the most classic images of Rome. Since 1600, this perspective has inspired great landscape painters...and I can see why.

Labels: Benjamin, Christmas, Italy, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary