It happened 394 years ago today. St. Peter’s Basilica, in Rome, Italy, was consecrated. And by that consecration, it became the world’s largest Christian Basilica.
There was another church, standing on the spot. Known as the Old St. Peters. It was there a long time, from the 4th century to the 16th century. But one day, old Pope Julius II — you know the guy, double-barreled white beard, red cape with the white piping around the shoulders, bright red cap pulled down on his forehead. Anyway, Julius looked up at the steeple and said, “My god. We need a bigger boat. I mean, church.” So he put the plan in motion. That was in 1506.
It would take 109 years for the church to be completed, by the way. And you thought your construction guys were slow. It is regarded as one of the greatest “Renaissance and Baroque” buildings ever constructed. When it was done? Pope Paul V was the guy holding the big pair of scissors who cut the ribbon out front.
I have never been there, but it stands in the shape of a Latin cross with the dome at the crossing. The dome is over a high altar and a shrine to St. Peter the Apostle.
But there are a few things that bother me about the place. First, its name. I don’t mind the St. Peter part.
St. Peter was a stand-up guy. One of the Apostles, he hung out with Christ on Friday nights, not eating meat. Fish and loaves, mostly. Good thing, as Peter was a fisherman, and that came in quite handy when it came to mealtime, especially when large crowds were involved. By the way, his given name was Simon. It doesn’t say this in the Bible, but he changed his name because all the other Apostles were constantly chiding him about “Simon says this” and “Simon says that.” Until one day, Christ got a little irritated and said, “Oh, for Pete’s sake!” And the rest was history.
Anyway.
It isn’t the St. Peter part that bothers me. It is the basilica part. If you look up the word “basilica” in the dictionary, it has three different meanings. This is confusing to me, as there are a LOT of basilicas around the world, and I want to know which of the definitions we have to follow for each particular building, including the one in Rome. So, for the time being, I’ll just try to stay as reverent as possible to cover all my bases.
The second part that concerns me is the structural validity. The architectural soundness, if you will. Isn’t there some sort of saying about too many cooks in the kitchen peeing in the soup? My point is — this thing took 109 years to build. Clearly, no one who started out on the project was there to see it to the end.
A whole slew of architects contributed to its design, including Donato Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Old Mike was appointed chief architect in 1546 and served until his death in 1564. That’s still 40 years shy of the deadline. There’s more. They outsourced. A guy named Carlo Maderno was responsible for its final Latin Cross design and the building’s facade. And the place is huge, with an exterior area of 227,060 square feet and an interior area of 163,200 square feet. Who vacuums?
I’m surprised the thing is still standing, really, with so many players in the game, and I’m a little worried for Pope Francis, praying there all the time. But. I guess “You Know Who” is on his side.
There are six bells in the place, the largest of which is 9 tons. That is one very big bell. They all have names too. I would have named that one Bertha, but it is known as Campanone. It rings when a new Pope is poped.
So yes. St. Peter’s was officially christened on this day, in 1626. And that’s what Simon said.
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“I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability.”
― Oscar Wilde
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“God has no religion.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
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“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
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The largest Christian chuch on earth, says you-know-who.
