The Mothership

Religious buildings. Having seen my grand share of them, I often say that "if you've seen one cathedral, you've seen them all". This is obviously not true, they are all unique in various ways, but many churches and cathedrals resemble each other. A lot. Same shape, same exterior, same interior, same purpose. A place of worship has little sacred or spiritual meaning for a non-religious person like myself, but this certainly doesn't mean I can't appreciate the magnificent architecture that often characterize these holy buildings.

Getting in is a surprisingly quick process. Having heard and read about Rome with its long queues and waiting for the major tourist attractions, a 10 minute wait to get in doesn't seem unreasonable. Only marginally longer than it takes to buy a hamburger at McDonald's, and considerably shorter than you would have to wait in queue calling any given helpdesk.

St. Peter's Basilica is the boss of all churches. The super-villain, or the super-hero in the world of Christianity. All of this naturally in the sense of its administrative, historical, religious, spiritual, or what have you power as a seat for the Catholic world. But also and equally important as a building that outranks pretty much every single church in the world in size, beauty, and splendor. This is the works. The mothership.

Most people in the Western world have visited a church at some point in their lives. Many people have visited large churches or cathedrals. But they all have to bow for this giant. The Vatican really went all the way when they raised this one. The sheer size - with a capacity of hosting some 60.000 people - makes a statement saying "Hey, I'm the boss! Mess with me, and you've got another thing coming!". This is one of those things in life where the saying "it can't be described in words, it has to be seen" truly applies. Also "a picture says more than a thousand words" doesn't really cut it. I don't impress easily, but anyone who leaves this creation unimpressed is either blind, lacking a basic aptitude for appreciation, or lying. The most commonly word uttered in the construction? If I had to take a guess, it would be "Wow!".

But, even a giant of a church like this one has a limited appeal factor, back outside at Piazza San Pietro we notice a change. Tourists are not randomly frolicking around in search for the perfect photo op. Everybody is facing the same way, away from the entrance to the cathedral. Being non-catholic and even non-religious, it takes a while before we realize what's going on. It's Sunday, Mass day. Cutting through the crowd, we finally spot the object of everybody's attention. Looking down at the square from a window high above, a man - the man - is blessing the crowd, in several different languages. Impressive. Linguistic modern Pope.

Christian Celind in Vatican City, February 2009

Email: travel@celind.com