The ticket made it clear we'd have to check Don's camera to take the tour. We didn't hesitate to make a few purchases at the Vatican gift shop before the tour since we knew we'd leave them with the camera. The problem was the line for security and checking his camera circled at least halfway around St. Peter's Square. Now what?!!
We decided to search for our entry point for the tour. That alone took about 15 minutes. Our destination was just outside of the colonnade, to the side of the basilica, just beyond the facade. The Swiss Guardsman that we found took pity on us. He would allow us through with what we had in hand. That was a huge blessing.
At this point, we were actually a little early for the tour. So we stepped aside to find some shade under the colonnade. Finally, our appointed time had come; we reported in for our tour. Here we found out how small the world really can be.
Also in our group was a couple named Eddie and Delores, from Alvin, TX. He is a deacon with the Houston-Gaveston archdiocese. They were accompanied by their daughter, Carolyn - who is the wife of Jack that we met earlier! She's also an Aggie. Like us, they met as students at A&M. It seems that Jack would not be taking the tour, though. He was elsewhere with their young children.
The tour begins
Our guide introduces himself as Joe Baker, a seminarian from Wisconsin. Joe was being "shadowed" by Bill, a newly-arrived seminarian also from Wisconsin. He explains that we are not to touch or lean on anything older than ourselves. What he meant, of course, is that only the rails and such that had been added since the middle of the 20th century were fair game.
You see, the scavi tour is all about the archeology digs involving the tomb of St. Peter. We began at the location where Peter was killed. Our one and a half hour tour took us back to pre-Christian times, explained the circumstances of Peter's execution and burial, and followed with the building of the original basilica by Emperor Constantine, then finally the current basilica. All of these times and events are like layers to the story. As we've learned, Rome is very ancient and most everything is adapted from or built on top of something in an earlier age.
In the 1940s workers uncovered, in a location directly below the current main altar of St. Peter's Basilica, something that was easily recognized as St. Peter's earliest tomb marker. Its exact location below the surface had been lost for centuries. The bones in the tomb were determined to not belong to Peter. Because of a fear of looting or desecration, they had been moved and deposited elsewhere many centuries before. After further excavation, Peter's bones were discovered nearby. The original burial monument and his bones are visible on the tour.
The tour was basically a viewing of the pagan-turned-Christian mausoleums that were built here on the other side of the river from the city of Rome. We learned a lot about the history, culture, and customs of the day. It is quite intriguing to think of being buried with a "libation hole" in the top of your sarcophagus so your loved ones can continue to provide you food and drink when they visit you!
But mostly we knew we were on sacred ground. Many of the people buried here, like Peter, died because they refused to denounce their Christian faith or to honor of any of the pagan Roman gods. It was against the law to be Christian and for that they were killed. It was incredible to have just walked the same pathways these faithful martyrs had walked.
Our dismissal from the archeological tour led directly into the magnificent basilica that bears the name of St. Peter.
Our reaction? Breathless. Speechless. Overwhelmed. Awestruck. Humble.
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