St. Paul Outside the Walls and the Vatican Mosaic Studio

Today began with a tour of St. Paul Outside the Walls which is outside the original Roman walls. We were fortunate to have as a tour guide, His Eminence, Cardinal Harvey. The cardinal is the Cardinal Archpriest of the Basilica. 

A group picture with Cardinal Harvey
outside the Holy Door that is only opened during Jubilee Years.

The Benedictine monks are responsible for providing pastoral care for the pilgrims who visit St. Paul's. They have been in custody of the tomb of St. Paul since the 700's. 

A statue of St. Paul, the apostle and missionary

St. Paul Outside the Walls was the largest church in Rome until St. Peter's Basilica was rebuilt in the 1600's.

The front entrance of St. Paul's. 

The mosaics of the triumphal arch survived a fire that destroyed the original church in the 1800's

During the tour, we were able to take time to pray in the confessio, the area under the high altar where St. Paul is buried.

These chains were used to bind St. Paul under house arrest while he lived and preached in Rome the two years before his death.

A close up of St. Paul's burial site

One of the unique details about St. Paul's is the mosaics of each of the popes beginning with St. Peter and ending with Pope Francis. Since Francis is the current pope, a light always shines on his mosaic. 

Mosaics of the last three popes:
Francis, Benedict XVI, and St. John Paul II

A picture from the time in the 1800's when the church was damaged by fire. You can see the triumphal arch that has the mosaics which were preserved, but the rest of the church was so badly damaged, it had to be rebuilt. 

After a delicious lunch, we headed to the Vatican for a special tour of the Vatican Mosaic Studio. Here, we admired the beauty of art. We met members of the staff on duty using their skills to combine colors of glass and marble to create mosaics that the Holy Father will use as gifts for visiting dignitaries. The artisans also care for the mosaics in St. Peter's Basilica.

Outside the mosaic studio

Next door to the studio is the pope's residence. We were not able to get too close but could see that the front entry is guarded by the Swiss Guards.

The papal flag flies outside the residence of Pope Francis