It's Christmas Eve and I'm excited about the day's forthcoming visits - all Vatican themed and connected with Rome's importance as the centre of the christian church. I also know the visit to St Peter's this evening for mass with Pope Francis will be a once in a lifetime experience. How did you manage to organize this I can hear you saying? - well its an interesting story. St. Peter's basilica is famous for many things and one of them is that it's the largest church in the world - at full capacity it can hold 60,000 people and it would be those sort of numbers that would be present at tonight's service. But how to get a ticket for the hottest Christmas Eve event in town? All the details of how to obtain free tickets for all happenings at the Vatican are on the excellent Vatican City website. Tickets for Christmas Eve midnight mass are free but need to be applied for in advance and the website tells you how to go about doing this. Not surprisingly the later one leaves it, the less chance there is of success and the site warns that applicants stand the best chance when they request only a small number of tickets. A few days before we left for Rome I looked at the Vatican site and assumed it would be impossible to attend this Christmas Eve service - the tickets would have been long gone.
Somehow, I don't know quite how, I discovered a reference to a Roman company called Carrani Tours which said it ran a Christmas Eve event which included a ticket for the Papal Mass. The independent review of the tour indicated it was surprisingly reasonably priced for what it included so I tried the site only to find that the company only took bookings from agencies it was connected with and not from members of the public. Further research suggested getting in touch with another website called "GetYourGuide" to try and book the tour through them. This is another site I can highly recommend. You register your details as a site member, say where you want to go and when and they then list the tours available. Sure enough the links to Carrani's tours came through including the Christmas Eve one with all the details. The booking process was easy and done in just a few minutes and we soon had the printable voucher in our hand; we could set off to Rome knowing the event was part of our Christmas Eve calendar.
Back to Christmas Eve morning. I wrote in a previous posting about an impressive church I'd seen from the coach when we travelled from Ciampino airport to Termini station earlier in the year. Afterwards I did a little research on it and discovered it was a Vatican church outside the state border and one of the utmost importance to the papacy, Called San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John the Lateran) - it is the primary church of the Bishop of Rome. This is an office held by the Pope and because it contains the cathedra or chair of the bishop - its Rome's only cathedral. Historically all popes were crowned here until 1879 and inside are the tombs of 6 popes including the last one not to be buried at St Peter's - Leo XIII. This was going to be the first special visit of the day and after breakfast we walked over to the Barberini metro station to take the train directly to San Giovanni. When we arrived at street level 20 minutes later the hugely impressive facade of the church was just a few steps away.
By any standards this church is a showstopper on a number of levels, whether it be in relation to its fascinating history, its impressive art and architecture or in connection with some of its somewhat bizarre eccentricities. To enter a building like this is an emotional experience, even for a non-believer and it sends shivers down the spine.
The earliest church on the site was Rome's very first Christian basilica founded by Constantine the Great in 324AD on part of the site of a Roman patrician palace which had belonged to Plautinius Lateranus who was executed by Nero for plotting against him. It was the first building of public Christian worship in the city and became a model for all the catholic churches that followed it. It was originally dedicated to Christ the Saviour and became the seat of the Bishop of Rome from this early time. Subsequently it enjoyed mixed fortunes through to the late medieval period - for example in the 9th century it was looted by the Vandals and in the 14th century it burned down twice. This doesn't detract from its importance however - Charlemagne was baptised here in 774AD and 5 Councils of the Catholic Church were held here in the middle ages. Before the papacy moved to Avignon in the early 1300's this church functioned as the Vatican basilica of St Peter's does today and its adjunct buildings also acted as the papal residence up to that time. The church was renovated and altered in the 17th century with the modification of the huge nave by Borromini, the work carried out between 1646-9. The present impressive Baroque facade, based on that of St Peter's, was added by Alessandro Galileo in 1735. Today mass can only be celebrated in the main church by the Pope and one of the most important catholic services of the year is held when the Pope celebrates Good Friday mass here.
Its impossible to describe here all the amazing things to be found inside this wonderful building so I'm just going to highlight a few of the ones I looked at that Christmas Eve morning. Remember - it's not a comprehensive list and I'm sure you'll discover your own highlights if you go there.
Our final visit before leaving St John Lateran was to another building outside the church and just across the road - it was to what is known as the Scala Sancta - The Holy Stairs and I'd never heard of it until this visit to Rome.
The catholic church is known for amassing, worldwide a collection of holy relics associated with events related to the history of the christian story. There are more alleged fragments of the true cross in existence than wood needed to build a Italian alpine chalet, not to mention the thousands of fragments of saints' bones and skulls to be found in catholic churches round the globe. Well - the holy stairs are the best "relic" I've come across so far. They consist of 28 white marble steps which lead from the hallway of the building they are installed in - put there by Pope Sixtus V in 1589 after the old Lateran Palace had been demolished to make way for a new one. They give access to the Sancta Sanctorum (Holy of Holies) - the personal chapel of the early Popes. They are alleged to have been brought to Rome in 326 AD by Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, their significance being that according to christian tradition, they are the steps from the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem and the steps that Christ ascended and descended at the time of his trial.
What seems like an eccentric ritual to many today has been performed by the faithful who have visited the site over the centuries. The stairs can only be ascended on the knees and one is supposed to say a prayer as each step is mounted. For protection purposes and no doubt to prevent the marble steps from wearing out - the stair are covered by 28 walnut planks. I hasten to add that I did not undertake this task on Christmas Eve (though many were doing so); my knees would never have lasted out, so I chose to go up to the first floor by one of the four other staircases available - two set on each side of the holy stairs. Those that have achieved this mighty task also descend to the ground floor using these conveniences; even the faithful were never expected to return the way they had come up!! The upper walls and ceiling above the holy staircase are decorated with frescoes and the whole installation was restored in 2007 with aid from the Getty foundation. Many celebrities have performed the ritual over the centuries including a number of popes.
Martin Luther is alleged to have climbed the stairs in 1511 saying at the top "who knows if it is so?". This is said to have been the result of an admonishment from the Holy Spirit! When Charles Dickens visited in 1845 he is commented "I never in my life saw anything at once so ridiculous and so unpleasant as this site". It is worth paying the small entrance fee to see the papal private chapel upstairs dedicated to St Lawrence and built in 1278 There's an interesting head and shoulders portrait of Jesus said not to have been done by human hand and early mosaics too. By the time we came out of the chapel and ready to go downstairs again the holy staircase was packed with people on their slow journey to the top - I didn't see a single person give up! All in all this visit was a truly memorable experience and it would put it on your Roman bucket list if you haven't done it already.
So - after declining the challenge of the holy stairs we took a bus back to Piazza Barberini via a scenic route which took in the Colosseum, The Forum and Trajan's Column - we needed a rest before setting out for St Peter's.
A private mini bus came to collect us from the hotel lobby at 4.30pm and we drove to the Carrani Tours office near Piazza Republicca to meet the rest of our group. There were about 40 of us in total and we were divided in to two sub groups. We were allocated to Marcello's group - out Italian guide who would conduct the tour in English - the other group would have an Italian speaking guide. We set off in a high quality coach and first stop was just down the Via Tritone, near our hotel in fact, so we could walk to Niccolo Salvi's Trevi fountain set against the Palazzo Poli and completed in 1762. This is the tourist site of tourist sites in central Rome and normally it wouldn't disappoint, but sadly for us it was under extensive restoration and it was difficult to pick out the central figure of Neptune hidden by the scaffolding, never mind the flanking horses and tritons. The fountain had also been drained to there was no opportunity for us to toss in the proverbial coins to guarantee a return visit to Rome, but at least there was a walk way over it to let people see as much of the statuary as possible. Evidently over 3000 euros are normally collected from the fountain on most nights and these are donated to a supermarket to help Rome's disadvantaged. I don't know who's been making up the loss whilst the work is done but I hope someone is.
A walk through more narrow streets and a quick look at the facade of the Papal University took us back to the coach parked by the Palazzo Colonna and we were off again for the ride to St Peter's Square. The coach took a route via the Piazza Venezia and the Via Vittorio Emanuelle II and then across the Tiber bridge and in to Via della Conciliazione. This is the only way one should approach St Peter's and I was particuarly looking forward to it tonight as I'd never taken the route in the dark before. To see the huge basilica illuminated by floodlight from this grand boulevard approach is a truly stunning sight and a never to be forgotten experience.
After getting off the bus we had a brief opportunity to take a few photographs whilst the square was still relatively empty - it was 6pm - and it was time to be taken by Marcello for a Christmas Eve dinner in a local restaurant near the Vatican. It turned out to be a fun venue and we also met up with the people on the other coach which made the place more atmospheric. The four course buffet dinner with wine and a prosecco toast was surprisingly good.
We sat next to a young man on his own from Chile and met another young couple from New York City who'd also booked the tour at the last minute like us. At about 7.30pm Marcello rounded us all up for the short walk back to St Peter's Square and by the time we got back there it was much busier and queues were forming for those with tickets for the papal mass. It took our guide several minutes to find the end of the line and I was shocked to discover how long it was - it snaked in a double loop all the way round the square and back again round its perimeter. Would we make it inside in time?
We stood with our new young friends from New York. We moaned just a little that the tour outline had not explained that it would take up to two hours to get inside the basilica. Rumours were also spreading that entry wasn't guaranteed to even those with tickets. Yikes - were we to be condemned to watching everything on the TV screens in the piazza? Gradually we moved round the square and we were able to get great views of the huge papal christmas tree and the outsized presepe (nativity scene) in front of the ancient obelisk. Every time I come here (this was my 4th visit) I admire the brilliance of the sublime 17th century Bernini embracing colonnades surmounted by saints which enclose the piazza and make everyone feel part of the special community it encloses. The atmosphere in the crowd tonight was warm and friendly and at the same time respectful and although the line was moving very slowly the time seemed to pass quickly. Soon my watch was showing almost 9pm and by this time we'd arrived at the security screening. A quick scan with a Vatican wand and we were through and able to walk quietly up the steps to the massive portals of the basilica - it was time to enter the church,
Inside the vast and cavernous nave looked full already and with only half an hour before the mass was due to start at 9.30pm, we already knew we weren't going to get a seat. We chose to stand at the back close to where the papal procession would begin and it proved to be a good choice We could see Bernini's huge bronze baldachino down the nave where the pope would celebrate the mass and he was going to pass by us very closely. We'd seen him once before, last December when we turned up in St Peter's Square one Sunday morning in December to hear him deliver the angelus prayer. At 9.30pm precisely - the Swiss guards near us stood to attention and a tannoy announcement asked the congregation not to applaud when the procession started thus respecting the solemnity of the occasion.
As the front of the procession passed us the thought flashed through my mind that if ever there was an institution dominated by elderly men it has to be the catholic church - not a woman in sight and only one or two younger clerics in the procession. The pope was at the back and after these fleeting thoughts I was pleased to see him. I admire this 77 year old Jesuit pope from Argentina, the first ever non-european ever to hold the office and I respect his decision not to live in the papal apartment and adopt the rich trappings of the office. I was fascinated to read earlier in the day that his parents had been born in northern Italy and had emigrated to South America at the time of Mussolini's fascist regime. His concern for the plight of the world's poor and disadvantaged seems to be already a hallmark of his papacy.
Though I am not a member of the catholic church myself, I was raised in the Church of England, I found this Christmas Eve mass a moving event. The setting was inspiring and the spoken and sung latin liturgy is truly spiritually uplifting, even for an old cynic like myself. A Vatican printed service booklet will make a permanent souvenir of our taking part in this "one off" event.
I've spent many Christmases in times past in settings devoid of the Christmas message and this year I was genuinely pleased to be reminded of it. I was taken by surprise the following day when Her Majesty the Queen in her own Christmas Day message said the following words:
"For me the life of Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, whose birthday we celebrate today, is an inspiration and anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ's example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none."
I was moved by these words on Christmas Day and when the Queen spoke them I felt the same sentiments had been apparent in the mass we'd experienced in St Peter's the previous evening. They are values and sentiments we can all subscribe to whatever backgrounds we come from and whenther we believe in God or not - it's a universal message as important today as it was 2000 years ago.
We decided not to take part in the communion part of the mass (I was never a confirmed member of the church of england) and it was an amazing experience to leave the basilica and stand on the steps of this great church before going down in to the crowds outside. This was a Christmas to remember and we looked forward to the walk back to the Hotel Barberini.
TRAVELLER'S TIP
This was an excellent overall Christmas Eve tour in Rome and I would recommend it. The ticket for the mass as St Peter's was the icing on the cake. It's not for those in a hurry though - there's a long wait in line outside St Peter's and the mass itself lasts 2.5 hours. It is however memorable and it was reasonably well organized by the tour operator. We could have had a ride back to our hotel in the coach had we wished to take that opportunity.
Somehow, I don't know quite how, I discovered a reference to a Roman company called Carrani Tours which said it ran a Christmas Eve event which included a ticket for the Papal Mass. The independent review of the tour indicated it was surprisingly reasonably priced for what it included so I tried the site only to find that the company only took bookings from agencies it was connected with and not from members of the public. Further research suggested getting in touch with another website called "GetYourGuide" to try and book the tour through them. This is another site I can highly recommend. You register your details as a site member, say where you want to go and when and they then list the tours available. Sure enough the links to Carrani's tours came through including the Christmas Eve one with all the details. The booking process was easy and done in just a few minutes and we soon had the printable voucher in our hand; we could set off to Rome knowing the event was part of our Christmas Eve calendar.
Back to Christmas Eve morning. I wrote in a previous posting about an impressive church I'd seen from the coach when we travelled from Ciampino airport to Termini station earlier in the year. Afterwards I did a little research on it and discovered it was a Vatican church outside the state border and one of the utmost importance to the papacy, Called San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John the Lateran) - it is the primary church of the Bishop of Rome. This is an office held by the Pope and because it contains the cathedra or chair of the bishop - its Rome's only cathedral. Historically all popes were crowned here until 1879 and inside are the tombs of 6 popes including the last one not to be buried at St Peter's - Leo XIII. This was going to be the first special visit of the day and after breakfast we walked over to the Barberini metro station to take the train directly to San Giovanni. When we arrived at street level 20 minutes later the hugely impressive facade of the church was just a few steps away.
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| THE FRONT ELEVATION OF ST JOHN LATERAN DESIGNED BY ALESSANDRO GALILEI IN 1735 CHRISTMAS EVE 2014 |
The earliest church on the site was Rome's very first Christian basilica founded by Constantine the Great in 324AD on part of the site of a Roman patrician palace which had belonged to Plautinius Lateranus who was executed by Nero for plotting against him. It was the first building of public Christian worship in the city and became a model for all the catholic churches that followed it. It was originally dedicated to Christ the Saviour and became the seat of the Bishop of Rome from this early time. Subsequently it enjoyed mixed fortunes through to the late medieval period - for example in the 9th century it was looted by the Vandals and in the 14th century it burned down twice. This doesn't detract from its importance however - Charlemagne was baptised here in 774AD and 5 Councils of the Catholic Church were held here in the middle ages. Before the papacy moved to Avignon in the early 1300's this church functioned as the Vatican basilica of St Peter's does today and its adjunct buildings also acted as the papal residence up to that time. The church was renovated and altered in the 17th century with the modification of the huge nave by Borromini, the work carried out between 1646-9. The present impressive Baroque facade, based on that of St Peter's, was added by Alessandro Galileo in 1735. Today mass can only be celebrated in the main church by the Pope and one of the most important catholic services of the year is held when the Pope celebrates Good Friday mass here.
Its impossible to describe here all the amazing things to be found inside this wonderful building so I'm just going to highlight a few of the ones I looked at that Christmas Eve morning. Remember - it's not a comprehensive list and I'm sure you'll discover your own highlights if you go there.
- Huge central bronze doors which originated from the Senate building in the Roman Forum
- Borromini's modified nave with massive piers containing niches for an humongous set sculptures dating from the 17th century of the 12 Apostles by various artists. They certainly make one reflect on the size of the average human physique.
- An intricate marble floor by Cosmati contrasting with the fabulously rich gilded and compartmented 16th century gilded wooden ceiling by Daniele da Volterra
- Behind the first pier on the right s Giotto fresco of Pope Bonface III's Jubilee
- The Papal altar with silver reliquaries purporting to contain the heads of St Peter and St Paul all beneath an elaborate gothic baldachino
- In front and beneath the papal altar the bronze tomb of Pope Martin V
- Behind the Papal altar the late 19th century reconstructed apse containing copies of Byzantine inspired mosaics
- In the right transept the tomb of Innocent III who met his end by poisoning whilst in Perugia
- And finally the fabulously intact medieval cloister by Vasalletti (father and son) completed between 1215 and 1223. Admire the wonderful spiral columns and 13th century mosaic details and the walls inset with architectural fragments from earlier churches on the site. On one side of the cloister a room containing treasures from the church including an intricately woven and decorated gold medieval semi circular cope. When we visited we were totally on our own. What a surreal experience to quietly tread the floors of an interior that's been there and used for over 800 years. There is a small admission charge for entrance to the cloister and museum.
Our final visit before leaving St John Lateran was to another building outside the church and just across the road - it was to what is known as the Scala Sancta - The Holy Stairs and I'd never heard of it until this visit to Rome.
The catholic church is known for amassing, worldwide a collection of holy relics associated with events related to the history of the christian story. There are more alleged fragments of the true cross in existence than wood needed to build a Italian alpine chalet, not to mention the thousands of fragments of saints' bones and skulls to be found in catholic churches round the globe. Well - the holy stairs are the best "relic" I've come across so far. They consist of 28 white marble steps which lead from the hallway of the building they are installed in - put there by Pope Sixtus V in 1589 after the old Lateran Palace had been demolished to make way for a new one. They give access to the Sancta Sanctorum (Holy of Holies) - the personal chapel of the early Popes. They are alleged to have been brought to Rome in 326 AD by Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, their significance being that according to christian tradition, they are the steps from the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem and the steps that Christ ascended and descended at the time of his trial.
What seems like an eccentric ritual to many today has been performed by the faithful who have visited the site over the centuries. The stairs can only be ascended on the knees and one is supposed to say a prayer as each step is mounted. For protection purposes and no doubt to prevent the marble steps from wearing out - the stair are covered by 28 walnut planks. I hasten to add that I did not undertake this task on Christmas Eve (though many were doing so); my knees would never have lasted out, so I chose to go up to the first floor by one of the four other staircases available - two set on each side of the holy stairs. Those that have achieved this mighty task also descend to the ground floor using these conveniences; even the faithful were never expected to return the way they had come up!! The upper walls and ceiling above the holy staircase are decorated with frescoes and the whole installation was restored in 2007 with aid from the Getty foundation. Many celebrities have performed the ritual over the centuries including a number of popes.
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| THE HOLY STAIRS AT THE LATERAN PALACE ON CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING 2014 |
So - after declining the challenge of the holy stairs we took a bus back to Piazza Barberini via a scenic route which took in the Colosseum, The Forum and Trajan's Column - we needed a rest before setting out for St Peter's.
A private mini bus came to collect us from the hotel lobby at 4.30pm and we drove to the Carrani Tours office near Piazza Republicca to meet the rest of our group. There were about 40 of us in total and we were divided in to two sub groups. We were allocated to Marcello's group - out Italian guide who would conduct the tour in English - the other group would have an Italian speaking guide. We set off in a high quality coach and first stop was just down the Via Tritone, near our hotel in fact, so we could walk to Niccolo Salvi's Trevi fountain set against the Palazzo Poli and completed in 1762. This is the tourist site of tourist sites in central Rome and normally it wouldn't disappoint, but sadly for us it was under extensive restoration and it was difficult to pick out the central figure of Neptune hidden by the scaffolding, never mind the flanking horses and tritons. The fountain had also been drained to there was no opportunity for us to toss in the proverbial coins to guarantee a return visit to Rome, but at least there was a walk way over it to let people see as much of the statuary as possible. Evidently over 3000 euros are normally collected from the fountain on most nights and these are donated to a supermarket to help Rome's disadvantaged. I don't know who's been making up the loss whilst the work is done but I hope someone is.
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| RESTORATION WORK AT THE TREVI FOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS EVE 2014 |
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| VIEW OF ST PETER'S BASILICA AFTER DISEMBARKING OUR COACH ON CHRISTMAS EVE 2014 |
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| JON POSES FOR A CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER PHOTOGRAPH |
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| OUR ATMOSPHERIC CHRISTMAS EVE VATICAN RESTAURANT |
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| STANDING IN LINE TO GET IN TO ST PETER'S ON CHRISTAS EVE |
Inside the vast and cavernous nave looked full already and with only half an hour before the mass was due to start at 9.30pm, we already knew we weren't going to get a seat. We chose to stand at the back close to where the papal procession would begin and it proved to be a good choice We could see Bernini's huge bronze baldachino down the nave where the pope would celebrate the mass and he was going to pass by us very closely. We'd seen him once before, last December when we turned up in St Peter's Square one Sunday morning in December to hear him deliver the angelus prayer. At 9.30pm precisely - the Swiss guards near us stood to attention and a tannoy announcement asked the congregation not to applaud when the procession started thus respecting the solemnity of the occasion.
As the front of the procession passed us the thought flashed through my mind that if ever there was an institution dominated by elderly men it has to be the catholic church - not a woman in sight and only one or two younger clerics in the procession. The pope was at the back and after these fleeting thoughts I was pleased to see him. I admire this 77 year old Jesuit pope from Argentina, the first ever non-european ever to hold the office and I respect his decision not to live in the papal apartment and adopt the rich trappings of the office. I was fascinated to read earlier in the day that his parents had been born in northern Italy and had emigrated to South America at the time of Mussolini's fascist regime. His concern for the plight of the world's poor and disadvantaged seems to be already a hallmark of his papacy.
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| POPE FRANCIS PROCESSES DOWN THE NAVE OF ST PETER'S CHRISTMAS EVE 2014 |
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| THE POPE CELEBRATES MASS IN ST PETER'S CHRISTMAS EVE 2014 |
"For me the life of Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, whose birthday we celebrate today, is an inspiration and anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ's example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none."
I was moved by these words on Christmas Day and when the Queen spoke them I felt the same sentiments had been apparent in the mass we'd experienced in St Peter's the previous evening. They are values and sentiments we can all subscribe to whatever backgrounds we come from and whenther we believe in God or not - it's a universal message as important today as it was 2000 years ago.
We decided not to take part in the communion part of the mass (I was never a confirmed member of the church of england) and it was an amazing experience to leave the basilica and stand on the steps of this great church before going down in to the crowds outside. This was a Christmas to remember and we looked forward to the walk back to the Hotel Barberini.
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| LEAVING ST PETER'S BASILICA ON CHRISTMAS EVE |
This was an excellent overall Christmas Eve tour in Rome and I would recommend it. The ticket for the mass as St Peter's was the icing on the cake. It's not for those in a hurry though - there's a long wait in line outside St Peter's and the mass itself lasts 2.5 hours. It is however memorable and it was reasonably well organized by the tour operator. We could have had a ride back to our hotel in the coach had we wished to take that opportunity.
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