This is the Catherdal at night.
This is the outside of the building. You can see all of the chairs lined up. I was there on Good Friday, and the Pope was going to speak there later on in the day.
Next to the church is the Pope's chambers. His apartment is the on the top on the second window on the end.
This is a Swiss guard. Swiss guards were choosen to guard the Vatican because of how faithful, religous, and good fighters they were. They still wear their traditional outfits. Any boy from Switzerland age 19-25 can apply to serve... with the condition of not being able to be married until they are 25.
The red velvet on the balcony comes out twice a year, and I just so happen be there when it was up!! This is called the Balcony of Blessings, and it is where the Pope addresses people from.
These are teh apostales on the top.
Just another zoomed out view.
Now we are coming to the inside of the church. In this picture you can see the marble that is all around the church.
This is still in the front and gives a good view on the ceiling.
Now we are moving onto the statues. There are HUNDREDS of them all throughout the church, and they are all made out of marble and are huge. You can see the people on the ground as a reference to how high the statue is in the wall.
This is an extremely famous sculptor made by Michaelango when he was 16 years old. No one believed that a 16 year old could make such a perfect work of art. This statue used to be outside for all to see, but it is now inside of the church protected by glass because a man hide a weapon and tried to destroy it about ten years ago.
Just an example of the beaitful artwork. This is not painted it is jewels and gold.
View of the ceiling. I don't think you can really make out the pictures on the top.
One of the many walkways.
I took a lot so that you could see the details, because it's really impressive to see.
Just for a size reference if you look at the letters at the top they are twice the size of a human being. So you can only imagine how massive this place is in person!
All of these statues have stories... I just don't remember them all.
This picture is a good example of the different types of marble throughout the Cathedral.
See how the light shines in? There are beams of light flowing into the church, and you can see the rays while walking around.
This is a past Pope. Pope's are now mummified to make their bodies last as long as possible. They believe that on judgement day everyone will have a chance to come back to Earth and be judged by God. This is why the preserve the bodies for the Popes to use on that day. This is the reason why very few people in Rome want to be cermated. People have been against it for many years, and have only recently considered it as a burial option.
This stand is where the Pope gives Mass from when he preaches in the St. Peters.
It is made out of wrought iron and gold. If you look really closely you can see the three bees on it.
Just another view.
More impressive art works!
The alter! I was taking pictures of the stand that the Pope stands on, and then I noticed everyone was gahhing behind me rapidly snapping pictures so I turned around and saw this. I think that I might have gasped too. It might not look that impressive in pictures, but it is massive and beautiful.... literally breath taking to see.
