January 23rd

We started and ended our day at St Peter's Basilica. It's amazing to visit St. Peter's in the early morning. It's almost empty and there are priests at almost every altar praying the Mass. We were at one of the altars in the grotto under the Church. This chapel was dedicated to the Polish Church and Our Lady of Czestochowa.

After breakfast we had another class discussion on the mission of the Church. We're all gearing up for our final paper and exam for this J-Term.
Then in the afternoon we had another with art historian, Dr. Lev. This time we toured the Vatican Museums which is the fourth largest museum in the world. Walking from room to room we watched the evolution of art all leading up to the Sistine Chapel.



Everyone has heard of the Sistine Chapel and its famous ceiling but for many who visit it each year, the beautiful fresco is too much to take in. It's overwhelming, but yesterday we learned to read it and it was astounding. If you're interested here is a small slice of our afternoon:
https://youtu.be/lQflBowgVB4

We ended in St. Peter's, a church Michelangelo helped finish, in the words of his contact, "for room and board, and for the salvation of my soul."