Week nine

                         This is a really beautiful chapel across from the Swiss Guard headquarters

             The courtyard of the Swiss Guard headquarters.

Half of our group going to learn about the Swiss Guard

This guy is a Swiss Guard

Two styles of uniforms.  They are both current.  Left is an officer.  Each Pope used to redesign the uniform until it got too costly and tedious.

Armory

Aren't those nice toys?

The different uniforms over the centuries.

Lunch room.

Meeting room.

Flat Stanley trying to convince them that he is Swiss so he can be a guard.

Some of the flags of the different Swiss territories.

Entrance to their own Chapel.

Above it is the Pope's quarters.

Part of the wall of the Vatican near the Swiss Guard chapel.

Chapel doors.

Inside the Chapel

The balcony railing looks like wheat and represents the Guards who died defending the Pope.

Bullet holes in the walls from when the Vatican was under attack.

The lady in the center is a professional beggar.

In the tour bus ready to see the Vatican Gardens.

These are all from within the Vatican Gardens.

Vatican Radio tower.

This is the Vatican train station.

The inside of the Church of the Mother of God.  This was one I walked through the rain to see.

This is the Church of St. Eugene which is the headquarters of Opus Deo.

This is the third church on my rain (partly cloudy) soaked tour.  I had been to it several times and finally got a picture of the interior.  I have to look up the name later.

These pictures are from in the Maryknoll house.  We were invited here for supper.  The head priest is Fr. Frank? and is originally from Hawaii.

This is him with the big mustache.

The guy on the right was a Maryknoll priest in training.

There were no guards around so I took these pictures of the relics of the crucifixion which are in the church of Santa Croce of Jerusalem.

These next ones are taken in the baptistry at St. John Lateran.

Most of what is portrayed has to do with the life of Constantine who donated the building.

We had Mass in the chapel that is a part of the baptistry.

The view just outside the baptistry next to St. John Lateran.

The exterior of the Baptistry.

Side entrance of St. John Lateran.

This is the view of the actual space for baptism in the baptistry.

Deer near running waters of baptism.

Flat Stanley is trying to figure out if he was baptized.

Ceiling of side entrance to St. John Lateran.

This is inside the Basilica.

Main altar.

Below the main altar.

Above the statues of the Apostles are these images.

That's St. Bartholomew.

St. Thaddeus.

St. Matthew.  Notice the size comparison.  Also notice the coins falling at his feet.

St. Phillip

St. James the Less.

St. Thomas

St. John

St. Andrew

St. James the Greater

St. Paul

St. Peter

Under the main altar is this statue of St. John the Baptist and a pope's tomb.

The back of the church

Sanctuary

Side chapel for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Moses with horns

The top of the Baldechino holds the heads of Ss. Peter & Paul.

They have a museum

Sanctuary ceiling or apse

Extra altar for Masses in the Sanctuary.

Flat Stanley loves riding on the bus for these tours.

This is a church I could not get into.  It is shaped like the tabernacle at St. Peters and is a part of a school on the same hill as the North American College.

Fruit & grocery store.

I never did get back to see the inside of this very simple church outside the walls.

Here is another neighborhood church.  Most of these were built in the 60's.  This is Queen of Peace.

More later.