Peter Maeder

As I entered the Basilica of St. Peter, I was followed closely by a man with closely cropped and sunglasses, I could tell his experience would be one of greater significance than mine as he was wearing vestments of a priest. As we entered the Basilica, he quickly took off his glasses and gazed about in awe proceeding directly to the cherubic fountains containing holy water. After blessing himself his journey around the Basilica continued, with the air filled with choral hymns as he gazed up each column basking in the hundreds of years of Christian iconography they represented. As he walked further and further in towards the mass that was underway, he was joined by a small group of people and as they all began to speak it was clear he had led a part of his parish here on a pilgrimage. The way this group interacted with the basilica was truly beautiful, stopping at each relic, gazing lovingly at each work of art, they seemed to be in complete and total awe of this space of Christianity. The further they went in the more apparent to me it became that they, unlike me, were not here to enjoy the history of the place, or the skill of the art, but to see and experience the heart of Catholicism. To see and feel the place where so much of their faith is derived from, to progress beyond their normal level of worship into something more. I was almost jealous of the meaning they derived from St. Peters, the pure faith that drove them, and especially their priest, to gain a life-changing experience from seeing this holy place.

Basilica of St. Peters
5/23/19