"Ali Goes Abroad" - The Power of St. Peter's

Reposted from Iona Student Ali Mudano's blog: http://aligoesabroad.wordpress.com/

"Indescribable. St. Peter’s was the most unbelievable church I have ever witnessed. I truly mean unbelievable, because I could not believe the facts I was hearing about its immense size.

1. St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, could have fit itself very easily at the front of the church.
2. The obelisk that sits in the center of the Vatican square was smaller in size than the Baldacchino in front of the altar.
3. The stained glass dove at the front of the church that looks about one foot in width is in reality TEN FEET ACROSS!

The most amazing aspect of St. Peter’s is its ability to not feel that big. This speaks to the power of perspective. Because the building itself is so enormous, by making all the statues and adornments large and to scale with the building, you don’t realize or feel the intensity of size.

Michelangelo’s Pieta was a powerful and moving experience. I stood before the exceptionally carved marble of Mary holding her crucified Son and felt tears behind my eyes. Unfortunately, the statue was behind glass because recently some looney tried to destroy the impeccable work of art.

Our group also had the opportunity to climb to the top of the dome in St. Peter’s. The staircases were narrow and claustrophobic, but the view from the top made it all worthwhile.
St. Peter’s is a place I definitely want to visit many more time before my departure, because you simply cannot take it all in during one visit. Even more than visit, I am hoping to attend Mass here in the near future. Will keep you posted on that!

Tonight, the girls in my apartment are diligently studying, writing papers, and only visiting Facebook every so often. We’ve been so busy exploring the eternal city that our schoolwork has crept up on us! To reward ourselves for being good students, we are fixing to go get..wait for it..a NUTELLA PANINI for a late night snack/study break dessert. Can we let that resonate for a minute? Nutella panini. Bread and nutella, what could be better? My mouth is watering, I hope yours is too!" - Ali Mudano

Click here to see her photos and previous posts.