Papal Conclave

[CathyCruises]

Just announced that it will begin Tuesday March 12th. Hopefully this means that it will be concluded before the majority of cruise ships start arriving in Civitavecchia for the season. Apparently in 1740 it took 6 months, but I am doubting that will happen again!

[slidergirl]

As long as it's over by April 30, I'll be happy ;)

With all the pre-notice that the Cardinals had about the resignation, I would imagine that they've been talking among themselves already. It shouldn't take too long this time. Maybe I'll be able to bring home a new rosary blessed by the new Pope for my very devout Catholic MIL...

[sandij]

no it has to be over by April 16th, the last time I was in Rome the Pope was holding a special mass for all these same Cardinals and we couldn't go into St Peter's, now I'm going back and I want to see the inside.

[cruisemom42]

no it has to be over by April 16th, the last time I was in Rome the Pope was holding a special mass for all these same Cardinals and we couldn't go into St Peter's, now I'm going back and I want to see the inside.

 

Saint Peter's Basilica will remain open during the Conclave, as will most of the Vatican Museum -- it is only the Sistine chapel that is closed.

[CathyCruises]

And I just heard that they have blocked all cell phone signals into/out of the Sistine, no tweeting who the frontrunner is!

[TLCOhio]

Lots of TV news coverage this am on the Cardinals gathering and getting ready in Rome to elect a new Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Shows such as the NBC Today program are trying to cover "it" like American Presidential campaigns. It is a unique form of "politics" to elect a new Pope, but NOT that kind in regular campaigns. Fortunately!! No TV ads, public debates, direct mail and/or robo calls. And to win, you need to get a two-thirds vote of the 115 Cardinals there who are locked out from TV coverage, cell phone use, texting, etc.

 

From the travel section of the Telegraph newspaper in London Friday, they have this headline: "Rome's Sistine Chapel: 50 fascinating facts" with this small sampling of these various highlights: "The Sistine Chapel – Cappella Sistina in Italian – takes its name from the man who commissioned it, Pope Sixtus IV: “Sixtus” in Italian is “Sisto”. Some 25,000 people a day, or five million people a year, visit the chapel. Entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel costs €16, an annual revenue for the Vatican of around €80 million or £70 million a year. Sisto’s chapel had the same dimensions, as described in the Old Testament, as the Temple of Solomon on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Sisto conducted the first Mass in the chapel on August 15, 1483. For such an important building the Sistine Chapel is remarkably plain outside – a high, block-like rectangular brick building without adornment. It has no grand façade and no processional entrance door: all entry points are internal, from other parts of the Papal Palace."

 

There are 44 other interesting details related to the Sistine Chapel in this news/travel article. This includes: "In 1978, Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) was the first non-Italian pope to be elected by a conclave in 455 years." Below are a few of my pictures of this famed chapel and related to Pope John Paul II during our June 2011 visit to Rome during our Solstice cruise detailed below on the the live/blog connection.

 

Good luck to those with upcoming visits to Rome and cruises in Italy this year.

 

Full story at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/rome/9917841/Romes-Sistine-Chapel-50-fascinating-facts.html

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 122,511 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Here are two samples of Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. This is is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. This work was done between 1508 and 1512. First is a wider picture showing that this room is more than just the ceiling that is elaborately decorated. It includes the walls, floors, etc. The second picture focuses more on the center part with the famed image of the hand of God giving life to Adam. This often crowded chapel is 134' long by 44' wide, the dimensions of the Temple of Solomon. The vaulted ceiling rises to 68'.:

 

 

 

 

 

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica, this is a portion of the main floor area for where the body of the late Pope John Paul II has been moved. On May 3, 2011, he was give this new resting place in the marble altar in Pier Paolo Cristofari's Chapel of St. Sebastian. This prominent location is next to the Chapel of the Pieta. They completed this change as he was elevated and moves towards Sainthood. Crowds were big and busy inside this huge Cathedral, the world's largest.:

 

 

 

This is the dramatic front view of St. Peter’s and the Square with the beautiful sky over this historic setting on June 10, 2011, during our visit and doing the Scavi tour under the Vatican in Rome. We will be seeing many, many media views of this famous church front and square during the coming weeks as a new Pope is selected and presented. This Cathedral is the world's largest!:

 

[sandij]

It is all amazing, we did see the museum and the Sistine Chapel the last time we were there, only the church is missing from my list.

[lvz2cruz]

Thank you for sharing these pictures. Makes me more excited for our trip!