St. Peter's Necropolis and Lastly The Pope

Last Thursday for my Religion and Culture class we had a field trip to St. Peter's Necropolis, which is underneath the basilica in the Vatican. Coincidentally it was the Pope's last day before he resigned.

The necropolis is the tombs that were excavated under the basilica. You have to book your visit, which our professor did  3 months ago. We entered from the side of the basilica, and had to go through the Swiss guards. We had a tour guide, but it was kind of hard to remember everything he said, because we saw so much! And there's is so much history down there! The basilica was actually built over the necropolis, which used to be ground level. I walked along the paths people had walked thousands of years ago!

It was pretty deep underground with really narrow hallways, and it was a little humid down there. It was so crazy to see all of these old tombs, and some of them so detailed. There were mosaics, and even marble caskets with intricate carvings to explain who was inside. There was a chapel underneath, with vents from above looking into St. Peter's Basilica. 

At the end of the tour we were brought to one section where a series of bones were found, easily matching the description of Peter. It is up to speculation if the bones are actually Peter's. The guide didn't say the bones were, but he didn't say they weren't. Even the possibility to see where he is buried is amazing. It was just a crazy realization to be standing in that place, knowing what is still there from the past. I'm not a big history buff, but I definitely appreciate seeing all of these historical monuments.

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, so here's some from the internet so you can get an idea of what it looks like. 

Supposedly Peter's Burial

The chapel inside. 

Our tour ended just before 5 pm, which was the time that the Pope was going to fly out of the Vatican on a helicopter. My professor started running out, and then our whole class started running out to see it. That was the only running I have done by the way. The bells started ringing and the square was packed with everyone searching for the helicopter, while it was being projected on the big screens in front. When it was finally in view everyone started cheering and clapping.

There he goes!

The square is packed!

The screen projected his short journey to his summer residence on the coast of Italy. It was such a historical day, and I still can't believe I was there to experience it. And being there worked out so perfectly. Being in the moment, I feel like none of this will hit me until I go home.