Basilica of St. Peter

TOPOGRAPHY

The present Church of St. Peter stands upon the site where at the beginning of

the first century the gardens of Agrippina lay. Her son, Caius Caligula, built a

circus there, in the spina of which he erected the celebrated obelisk without

hieroglyphics which was brought from Heliopolis and now stands in the Piazza di

S. Pietro. The Emperor Nero was especially fond of this circus and arranged

many spectacles in it, among which the martyrdoms of the Christians (Tacitus,

"Annal.", XV, 44) obtained a dreadful notoriety. The exact spot in the circus of

the crucifixion of St. Peter was preserved by tradition through out the centuries,

and in the present Church of St. Peter is marked by an altar. Directly past the

circus of Nero ran the Via Cornelia which, like all Roman highways, was bordered

with sepulchral monuments. In Christian times a small city of churches and

hospices gradually arose here, but without this part of Rome being included in

the city limits. When in the year 847 the Saracens pillaged the Basilica of St.

Peter and all the sanctuaries and establishments there, Leo IV decided to

surround the extensive suburb with a wall, interrupted at intervals by exceedingly

strong and well-fortified towers. Two of these towers, as well as a fragment of the

wall, are still preserved in the Vatican gardens and afford an interesting picture of

the manner of fortification. Owing to this circumvallation by Pope Leo the Vatican

portion of the city received the name Civitas Leonina, which it has preserved to

the present day (Leonine City). The Vatican Hill rises in close proximity to the

river Tiber. Between it, the river, and the mausoleum of Hadrian (Castle of Sant'

Angelo) lies a small plain which was not filled with houses until the early Middle

Ages. The Vatican territory did not assume a throughly urban character until the

end of the fifteenth century.

BASILICA OF CONSTANTINE

The simple sanctuary of the Prince of the Apostles gave place under Constantine

the Great to a magnificent basilica, begun in the year 323 but not completed until

after his death. The southern side of the ancient basilica was erected upon the

northern side of the circus, which in the Middle Ages bore the name Palatium

Neronis. It was built in the form of a cross and divided into five naves by four rows

of twenty-two columns each. Vast treasures were collected in the course of

centuries in this principal sanctuary of Western Christendom: precious mosaic

decoration internally and externally, offerings of great value surrounding the tomb

of the Prince of the Apostles, magnificent vestments in the wardrobes of the

sacristy, richly decorated entablature, and bright but harmoniously coloured

pavements, paintings, and whatever else the love and veneration of high and low

could conceive in the way of adornment. Connecting the basilica with the Porta di

S. Pietro at the Castle of Sant' Angelo was a covered colonnade, through which

innumerable pilgrims passed. Provision was made in the Vatican territory for their

shelter, and the necessity soon arose of building a palace near the basilica in

which the pope could live and receive visitors when sojourning at St. Peter's.

Churches and monasteries, cemeteries and hospices arose in great numbers

around the tomb of the "fisher of men".

Twelve centuries elapsed between the building of St. Peter's and the first

demolition of an important part of the basilica. Its rebuilding during the Early

Renaissance is to be regretted, for the plan of the new church became the

plaything of artistic humours. It is due to Michelangelo, who saved all that was

possible of Bramante's original plan, that something aesthetically satisfactory

was created.

HISTORY OF THE BUILDING

Owing to the neglect of the churches at Rome during the papal residence at

Avignon, by the fifteenth century the decay of Saint Peter's had progressed to an

alarming extent. Nicholas V, an enthusiastic Humanist, therefore conceived the

plan of levelling the old church and erecting a new structure in its place. Bernardo

Rossellini of Florence was intrusted with the undertaking and in accordance with

his plans the new basilica was to completely surround the choir and transept of

the old, and to have the ground plan of a Latin cross with an elongated nave. But

with the exception of the tribune begun in 1450 and the foundations of the wall

surrounding the transept nothing further was built, as the pope died in 1455.

Julius II, adopting the idea of reconstructing the basilica, instituted a competition

in which Bramante, as is related, gained the prize. His unlimited enthusiasm for

the mighty conception of the impetuous pope is attested by his numerous plans

and drawings, which are still preserved in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Bramante

wished to pile the Pantheon upon the Constantinian basilica, so that a mighty

dome would rise upon a building in the form of a Greek cross. In the spring of the

year 1506 Julius, in the presence of thirty-five cardinals, laid the foundations of

this imposing structure, which posterity has spoiled and changed for the worse in

an inexcusable manner. Bramante died in 1514. Giuliano da Sangallo and Fra

Giacondo da Verona, who together with Raphael continued his work, died in 1516

and 1515 respectively. Raphael, yielding to all manner of influences, undertook

changes but did not promote the building to any considerable extent. After his

death in 1520 a sharp conflict arose whether the church should remain in the

form of a Greek cross, or the nave be extended so as to form a Latin cross.

Antonio da Sangallo, who was appointed architect in 1518, and Baldassari

Peruzzi, appointed in 1520, were without fixed plans and attempted all manner of

experiments, of which Michelangelo, when he received control in 1548, made an

end so far as this was still possible. Bramante's plan seemed to him so excellent

that he built in accordance with it. By strengthening the central piers he made it

possible for them to bear a dome. He did not live to see the completion of his

artistic conception, since only the drum was completed when he died. But in the

years which followed the present dome, a sublime masterpiece of unsurpassed

beauty, was constructed in accordance with his designs. The faithfulness with

which, after the great master's death (1546), Giacomo della Porta continued the

building of the dome in accordance with Michelangelo's intentions should be

especially emphasized. The building might have been completed at the beginning

of the following century if in 1606 Paul V had not decided to carry out the form of

the Latin cross. During the twenty years which followed Carlo Maderna

constructed the present by no means unobjectionable facade and Bernini wasted

time and money in adorning the front with bell-towers, which for artistic reasons

had to be removed, in so far as he had completed them. At length on 18

November, 1626, Urban VIII solemnly dedicated the church, of which the actual

construction, excepting certain unimportant details, may be considered as

completed. Three clearly defined stages in the construction of St. Peter's must

therefore be distinguished: (1) Bramante's Greek cross with the dome; (2)

Michelangelo, a Greek cross with dome, and in addition a vestibule with a portico

of columns; (3) Paul V, a Latin cross with Baroque facade. The longer they built

the more they spoiled the original magnificent plans, so that the effect of the

exterior as a whole is unsatisfactory. The principle mistake lies naturally in the

fact that the unsuitable extension of the nave conceals the dome from one

observing the basilica from a near point of view. Only at a considerable distance

is Michelangelo's genial creation in its pure and beautiful design revealed to the

astonished observer. All the external walls are constructed of splendid travertine,

now become gold in colour, which even in bright sunlight gives a quiet,

harmonious effect.

ARCHITECTURE

Statistics

The construction of St. Peter's, in so far as the church itself is concerned, was

concluded within a period of 176 years (1450-1626). The cost of construction

including all the additions of the seventeenth century amounted to about

$48,000,000. The yearly cost of maintenance of the gigantic building, including

the annexes (sacristy and colonnades), amounts to $39,500, a sum that is only

exceeded when actual renewals of the artistic features (such as gilding, repairing

the pavement, and extensive marble work on the pilasters) becomes necessary.

The basilica is endowed with extensive properties at Rome, wide landed

possessions in Middle Italy, and other capital from the income of which the entire

support of the Divine Service, the clergy, and the large number of employees, as

well as the costs of the building requirements are derived. In accordance with the

most reliable contemporary calculations, those of Carlo Fontana, the proportions

of the building are as follows: height of the nave, 151.5 feet; width of the same at

the entrance, 90.2 feet; at the tribune, 78.7 feet; length of the transepts in

interior, 451 feet; entire length of the basilica including the vestibule, 693.8 feet.

From the pavement of the church (measured from the Confession) to the oculus

of the lantern resting upon the dome the height is 404.8 feet, to the summit of the

cross surmounting the lantern, 434.7 feet. The measurements of the interior

diameter of the dome vary somewhat, being generally computed at 137.7 feet,

thus exceeding the dome of the Pantheon by a span of 4.9 feet. The surface area

of St. Peter's is 163,182.2 sq. feet.

Comparative measurements (length):

Length of St. Paul's, London, 520.3 feet;

Cathedral of Florence, 490.4;

Cathedral of Milan, 444.2;

Basilica of St. Paul, Rome, 419.2;

St. Sophia, Constantinople, 354.

Comparative measurements (surface area):

Milan, 90,482 sq. ft.;

St. Paul's, London, 84,766.5;

St. Sophia, 74,163;

Cologne, 66,370.8;

Antwerp, 53,454.

The vestibule of the basilica is 232.9 feet wide, 44.2 deep, and 91.8 high. On the

facade are five portals; in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is a door which

leads directly into the Apostolic Palace; in the choir chapel and in the vestibule

of the left transept are doors leading to the sacristy, besides which there are four

others generally used for building and administrative purposes. Besides the two

low galleries for the singers in the choir chapel, there are four others of restricted

size in the piers of the dome. In addition to the principal altar in the tribune and

the four altars in the crypts, the basilica contains twenty-nine altars, under most

of which bodies of saints, including several of the Apostles, repose.

Annex Buildings

The colonnades which enclose the most beautiful public place in the world, the

Piazza di S. Pietro, form an organic part of the basilica. Constructed in 1667 by

Bernini, they surround the piazza in elliptical form, the major axis 1115.4 feet,

the minor axis 787.3 feet. For the construction of the colonnades and the

equipment of the Piazza di S. Pietro about a million dollars were expended. The

covered colonnades which consist of four rows of columns in the Doric style form

three passages, the central one of which is the width of an ordinary wagon road.

The 248 columns and 88 pilasters are entirely of travertine. Adjoining the elliptical

place is a square one which diminishes in extent towards the church. Its sides

consist of extensive corridors, of which the one on the right belongs to the

Apostolic Palace of the Vatican. The colonnades and corridors are surmounted

by 162 figures of saints after designs by Bernini. In the middle of the ellipse

towers the celebrated obelisk of Heliopolis. Its removal to the present site took

place in 1586. On both sides of the obelisk are two beautiful fountains 45.9 feet

in height. The obelisk is 836 feet high, and weighs 360.2 tons. Its apex is

adorned with a bronze cross containing a fragment of the True Cross. The

irregular quadrangle between the ellipse and the basilica is for the most part

occupied by the monumental stairway and its approach, which lead pilgrims to

the higher level of the church. The area of this approach alone is greater than that

of most churches of Christendom. The sacristy of St. Peter's, the house of the

canons and beneficiaries, as well as the papal hospice of Santa Marta are

connected with the basilica by two covered passages. The sacristy, which

contains very remarkable art treasures, was built in 1775 under Pius VI by Carlo

Marchione. The Palazzina, which stands on the Piazza di Santa Marta behind

the basilica, belongs directly to St. Peter's. It is for the time being the official

residence of the archpriest of St. Peter's, who is always a cardinal.

Description of the Basilica

As may be seen in the accompanying plan, the four principal divisions of the

basilica extend from the dome and are connected with each other by passages

behind the dome piers. To the right and the left of the nave lie the smaller and

lower aisles, the right of which is bordered by four lateral chapels, the left by

three chapels and the passage to the roof. The general decoration consists of

coloured marble incrustations, stucco figures, rich gilding, mosaic decoration,

and marble figures on the pilasters, ceiling, and walls. The panelling of the

pavement in geometric figures is of coloured marble after the designs of Giacomo

della Porta and Bernini. The extremely long sweep of the nave is closed by the

precious bronze baldachino 95 feet high, which Urban VI caused to be erected by

Bernini in 1633. Beneath it is the Confession of St. Peter, where the body of the

Prince of Apostles reposes. No chairs or pews obstruct the view; the eye roves

freely over the glittering surface of the marble pavement, where there is room for

thousands of people.

The centre of the entire structure is the tomb of St. Peter (see Confession; Saint

Peter, Tomb of). Very interesting also are the high altar in the tribune, enclosing

the chair of the Prince of Apostles, and the mighty slab of porphyry upon which

the German emperors were formerly crowned. The magnificent holy water basins

to the right and to the left, well known from numerous illustrations, are supported

by gigantic putti. The barrel vaulting reposes in a beautiful curve upon the pillars

and the arches connecting them. Proceeding forwards we also perceive the

marble reliefs of many popes on the piers while many of the pier niches contain

heroic statues of the founders of the orders, a decoration which extends also over

the transepts and the nave of the tribune. At the fourth pier to the right is a very

important sitting statue of St. Peter, which has been erroneously ascribed to the

thirteenth century, but in truth dates from the fourth or fifth. This is no adaptation

of another statue, but was intended to be a statue of the Prince of the Apostles.

In the left transept the confessionals of the penitentiaries of St. Peter's reveal in

the most beautiful manner the unity of the Faith, by offering the opportunity for

confession in the most important civilized tongues of the world. Facing the

Confession there stand obliquely before the dome piers the colossal marble

statues of Sts. Longinus, Helena, Veronica, and Andrew. From the gallery above

the statue of St. Helena the so-called great relics are displayed several times

during the year. The most important of these is a large fragment of the True

Cross. Above the four galleries of the dome the four Evangelists are depicted in

magnificent mosaics after the designs of Cavaliere d'Arpino. In the frieze above

stand the proud Latin inscription, the letters of which are six feet high: "Thou art

Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and I will give thee the keys of

Heaven".

In the tribune of the left transept are three altars of which the middle one is

particularly noteworthy because, in the first place, the tomb of the immortal

composer Pierluigi da Palestrina lies before it; secondly, because the bodies of

the two Apostles Simeon and Judas Thaddeus repose in a stone sarcophagus

beneath the altar; and thirdly, because, as the altar-piece of Guido Reni records,

the altar marks the spot in the circus of Nero where the cross stood upon which

St. Peter breathed his last. The right transept has attained a special importance

in most recent ecclesiastical history because in 1870 the Vatican Council held

its sessions here until dispersed by the march of the crowned revolution upon

Rome. Returning to the entrance we find in the first lateral chapel of the right

aisle the place made famous by Michelangelo's "Pietà" (1498). Beside it in the

chapel of St. Nicholas is the treasury of the relics of St. Peter, then follows the

chapel of St. Sebastian, and finally the roomy chapel of the Sacrament. Among

the art treasures here is the tomb of Sixtus IV, a thoroughly simple and

impressive bronze monument by Antonio Pollajuolo. From the multitude of

sepulchral monuments which adorn the right transept, those of Leo XII, of

Countess Matilda of Tuscany, the powerful friend of Gregory VII, and of Gregory

XIII, the reformer of the calendar, deserve special mention. Against the dome pier,

directly in front of us, stands an altar with the "Communion of St. Jerome" after

Domenichino. The passage around the dome to the right is called the Gregorian

chapel, because it was decorated under Gregory XIII after the designs of

Michelangelo. Next to the monument of Gregory XVI is the altar of the Madonna

dell Soccorso, whose picture is from the ancient church of St. Peter. Under the

altar-piece reposes the body of St Gregory of Nazianzus and adjoining it is the

colossal tomb of Benedict XIV.

In the opposite passage of the dome pier are Canova's masterpiece, the

monument of Clement XIII, and the altar-piece after Guido Reni, representing the

Archangel Michael. In the same division on the left side of the church, the

monument of Alexander VIII gleams in the distance, and under the altar of the

Madonna della Colonna, in an early Christian sarcophagus the mortal remains of

Sts. Leo II, Leo III, and Leo IV repose. The altar of St Leo I is surmounted by the

colossal marble relief by Algardi, the "Retreat of Attila from Rome", the

proportions of which seem too large, even for the Basilica of Saint Peter. Farther

on is the monument of Alexander VII, and opposite this is the only oil-painted

altar-piece—one by Vareni—of St. Peter's. All the remaining altar-pieces within

the church are of mosaic. Passing through the left transept we approach the

passage around the fourth dome pier, where on the right, under the monument of

Pius VIII, is the entrance to the sacristy, and directly in front, under the

monument of Pius VII by Thorwaldsen, is the stairway to the gallery of the

singers in the choir chapel. Here the left transept begins, the first lateral chapel

of which is used for the prayers of the canons, while the last serves as a

baptistery. Adjoining the choir chapel beyond the entrance, at a height of fifteen

feet above the pavement, is an enclosed niche in which each deceased pope is

interred until his body can be taken to the sepulchre definitively assigned for it.

At the present time the body of Leo XIII still reposes here, although his sepulchre

in the Lateran has long been finished. The uncertainty of conditions at Rome has

rendered it inadvisable as yet to undertake the removal of the body. On the tomb

of Leo XI our attention is attracted by an excellent marble relief representing King

Henry IV of France abjuring Protestantism. Of similar importance is another relief

here upon the monument of Innocent XI, relating to the raising of the Turkish

siege of Vienna by John Sobieski, King of Poland. Among the most beautiful

funeral monuments of the entire basilica is that of Innocent VIII by Antonio and

Pietro Pollajuolo. Adjoining these are the two important tombs of Urban VIII by

Bernini and Paul III by Guglielmo della Porta.

Sagre Grotte Vaticane is the name applied to the extended chambers under the

pavement of St. Peter's. They are distinguished as the old and the new crypts.

The former lie principally under the nave, and are 59 feet wide and 147.6 feet

long. They represent the pavement of the old Basilica of St Peter. Numerous

graves of popes and emperors, which were in the Basilica of Constantine, are

here, so that the low and extended place, 11.4 feet in height, is of the greatest

historic interest. Among many others are the graves of the popes: Nicholas I,

Gregory V, a German, Adrian IV, an Englishman, Boniface VIII, Nicholas V, Paul

II, Alexander VI, and the Emperor Otto II. The heart of Pius IX also reposes here

in the simple urn. The new crypts extend about the tomb of the Apostle and lie

under the dome. Adjoining the horse-shoe-shaped passage are a number of

chapels in which very remarkable antiquities and works of art from the old

basilica are preserved. In the middle of the passage just mentioned is the most

magnificent of all the early Christian sarcophagi, that of Junius Bassus, to which

Waal has dedicated a detailed and richly illustrated monograph, sympathetic in

treatment. Two altars are placed here in the closest possible proximity to the

sarcophagus in which the body of St. Peter reposes. Admission to the crypts

and to Holy Mass at the altar of the Confession which was formerly very difficult,

especially to women, is now easy to obtain.

The Ascent of the Dome

It was the former custom to ascend an easy stairway to the roof of the church,

but now a spacious elevator carries visitors to the heights. From the roof, which

is enlivened with many small cupolas and a few guards' houses, there is a fine

panorama and a view of the Eternal City. The great dome has a circumference of

about one hundred paces, and if one wishes to mount higher, a stairway between

the inner and outer casing of the dome, 308.3 feet in height, leads into the

lantern. Entering the external gallery of the lantern, the beholder is astonished by

the view that greets the eye. It looks down into the gardens of the Vatican

Palace, in which the people walking about seem like dwarfs. The panorama of

the city unfolds itself in plastic forms. To the left tower the Sabine mountains;

and beyond the extensive sun-bathed Campagna are the beautiful Alban hills with

their highest peak, Monte Cavo. On the slope of this chain lie the attractive

suburban towns Frascati, Marino, Albano etc., and on the right gleams a silver

streak—the sea. Encircling the gallery towards the west, the Vatican gardens lie

beneath us, rich and varied in plan, although not artistically laid out. The entire

panorama is one of greatest interest.

DIVINE SERVICE IN ST. PETER'S

Although the Lateran Basilica bears the honorary title of the cathedral of the

Bishop of Rome, mother and head of all the churches of the earth, this basilica,

as Waal correctly observes, has for a thousand years been an isolated church

which played a very modest part in the devotions of the Roman pilgrims. It is very

different with St. Peter's. The great wealth of the basilica has always made it

possible to maintain most magnificent ritual; and its proximity to the inner city,

its great size, and its art treasures have always attracted everyone. Besides

numerous canons, beneficiaries, and chaplains, the church has at its disposal

the Vatican Seminary, the students of which always assist in the church in the

celebration of Divine Service. The performances of their vocal choirs, the Capella

Giulia, are of a very high artistic order. One liturgical celebration takes place only

in St. Peter's and in no other church in the whole world: the Washing of the Altar

on Maundy Thursday. At the close of the Matins on this day the so-called papal

altar under the great bronze baldachino is sprinkled with oil and wine. In an

extended procession the archpriest, his vicar, the canons, the beneficiaries, the

chaplains, and the entire clergy approach in order, and symbolically wash the

altar with a sprinkler. A solemn benediction with the great relics from the gallery

of St. Helena terminates this very impressive ceremony.

The great papal functions which Leo XIII was the first to resume after the sad year

of 1870 have since then taken place in St. Peter's with a few exceptions, when

the Sistine Chapel or the Sala Ducale were used. Jubilees, canonizations,

coronations, and other events in which the pope solemnly presides assemble

40,000 to 50,000 people in the gigantic halls of St. Peter's. They wait patiently for

hours until at the appointed time the Vicar of Christ, loftily enthroned upon the

sedia gestatoria, blesses the worshipping throng, while in measured steps he is

born to the papal altar. A perfect silence prevails, when after long preparations

the pope in full pontifical attire begins the actual service. Suddenly the

magnificent tones of the Kyrie are intoned by the choir of the Sistine Chapel, who

alone have the privilege of singing in the presence of the pope, and always

without the accompaniment of an organ. Then the pope turns for the first time to

the faithful and chants "Pax vobis" (Peace be with you). At the Elevation silver

trumpets resound from Michelangelo's dome.

CHIMES OF ST. PETER'S

As in many cathedral churches, the bells of St. Peter's possess an ample

endowment of their own. This serves for their maintenance and to defray the cost

of the complicated programme of the chimes. The usual daily service is simple

but far more complicated are the chimes for Sundays, fast days, feast days,

ember days, feasts with octaves, the anniversary of the death, election, and

coronation of the present and the preceding pope, and finally, as a climax, the

feast of St. Peter with its chimes seven days before and during its octave.

Different chimes are prescribed at the death of a canon than at that of the pope.

THE MAINTENANCE OF THE BASILICA

A building of such colossal extent requires a corps of architects, who conduct

the ordinary, as well as the unusual, works on the basilica. They are directed by

a head architect, who in conjunction with the economist of St. Peter's, a canon,

discusses and arranges everything as far as no special question requires the

vote of the chapter. A staff of selected artisans of all kinds, who are in permanent

service and are called sampietrini, is directed by a head master, and there are

few great institutions in the world which have such a chosen body of clever,

reliable, and fearless workmen. Only in the rarest cases is the management of

St. Peter's compelled to seek assistance of artisans or workmen who do not

belong to the sampietrini. The maintenance of the mighty building is exemplary

throughout.

PAUL MARIA BAUMGARTEN

Transcribed by Judy Levandoski

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIII

Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company

Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight

Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor

Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York