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Vatican Garden, Museum, and Sistine Chapel

Location: Rome, Italy

Our second day in Italy was marked by beautiful highlights. We started the day with a moment where all the seminarians gathered together to pray our Morning Prayer together, thanking the Lord for this new day and getting us ready to learn about these places. We departed on the bus soon after and the bus was filled with chatter and laughter.

We first arrived at the Vatican Garden. The Garden was originally created as a space for the popes to spend time, connecting with nature in prayer and reflection. Here, our group took a long walk, joining with the spirit of prayer of pilgrims. 

The Garden holds the remains of various parts of history: medieval walls and fountains, adjacent to some modern pieces of sculpture. Most prominently are the collection of various Marian statues, art pieces (or shrine,) or representations, such as Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of La Vang, and most impressively is Our Lady of Mercy, which was made in raised 3D texture, dedicated for the blinds to touch and feel—a metaphorical gesture of the love of our Blessed Mother.

We later made our way to the Vatican Museum where art, culture, and faith come together, building a treasure of history, value, and beauty. We first passed a hall of various statues, a result of popes throughout history collecting, restoring, and preserving as gifts now being parts of the museum. Then, we moved to the Tapestries hall where art and beauty were woven to tell their stories of nature beauty or biblical story. The Vatican museum is more than just a gallery. As pilgrims, we walk in a spiritual journey, witnessing the Church as a treasure of beauty throughout history.

Next we moved into the Raphael Rooms where the walls depicted with paintings of the Battle of Constantine. Here, on the Milvian Bridge, in 312 A.D., Constantine defeated the Maxentius, marking the end of the Roman persecution.

Our last stop was at the Sistine Chapel, which is known as the masterpiece of Michelangelo’s ceiling, showing the work of creation, theology, and salvation intersect and reveal through art. Despite the many people present, the space here is preserved for silence and prayer, reminding us as pilgrims to reflect in prayer.

-Khoi Bui, Diocese of San Jose 

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