The most visited site in Christendom
St Peter's is not simply a church: it is the physical symbol of the papal institution and, by extension, of Roman Catholicism throughout the world. From the 4th century onwards, every major event in Western Christian history has resonated here, or taken place directly within these walls.
Christmas 800: the birth of Carolingian Europe
On 25 December 800, in the old Constantinian basilica that preceded the present one, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The act consecrated the convergence of spiritual and temporal power that would define medieval Europe for centuries. It was not merely a religious rite: it was the symbolic founding of a continental political order.
The building as theological scandal
In the first half of the 16th century, Pope Julius II had initiated the demolition of the old Constantinian basilica and the construction of the new one. To finance the extraordinary undertaking, the Church sold plenary indulgences throughout Europe. In 1517 a German Augustinian monk — Martin Luther — published his 95 Theses against this practice. The construction of St Peter's was thus, indirectly, one of the triggers of the Protestant Reformation and the resulting permanent division of Western Christianity.
Papal coronations
For centuries, new popes were crowned with the papal tiara in solemn ceremonies at St Peter's. The last traditional coronation was that of Paul VI in 1963: since then the ceremony has been replaced by the inauguration of the Petrine ministry, without the tiara. This symbolic transformation redefined the visual representation of the papacy in the contemporary era.
The First and Second Vatican Councils
Two of the most important ecumenical councils in modern history were held at St Peter's:
- Vatican I (1869–1870): defined the dogma of papal infallibility. Suspended when Italian troops entered Rome in 1870.
- Vatican II (1962–1965): opened by John XXIII, the most attended council in history (over 2,500 bishops). Sessions were held in the basilica. It redefined the Church's relationship with the modern world, ecumenism and liturgy.
13 May 1981: the attempt on John Paul II's life
At 17:17 on 13 May 1981, as he was moving through the crowd in St Peter's Square in the Popemobile, John Paul II was shot by Turkish citizen Mehmet Ali Ağca. He survived. On 27 December of the same year, the Pope visited his would-be assassin in prison. In 2000, during the Jubilee, Ağca was pardoned by the President of Italy and expelled to Turkey. The attack and the subsequent scene of reconciliation became one of the defining symbolic moments of the Wojtyla pontificate.
St Peter's in literature
Goethe, in Italian Journey (1786–1788), describes the square and the basilica with a sense of wonder that crosses centuries. Henry James, in his Italian essays, records the overwhelming impression the basilica makes on the Anglo-Saxon observer. Stendhal sets some of his reflections on beauty in Italy within St Peter's. Hawthorne, in The Marble Faun (1860), uses the basilica as a backdrop for meditation on sin and redemption.
The basilica appears as a literary space not merely as architecture but as a moral space: a place where characters measure their own smallness against the absolute.
Cinema and the contemporary imagination
St Peter's is one of the most recognisable locations in world cinema. From Quo Vadis (1951) to the thriller Angels & Demons (2009, based on Dan Brown), the basilica and the square have hosted or inspired dozens of productions. The iconic quality of the dome and square makes them almost automatic locations for narratives that wish to evoke power, faith, grandeur, or the confrontation between individual and institution.
Pilgrimage and the Ad Limina tradition
Since the Middle Ages, millions of the faithful have travelled the great pilgrimage routes (the Via Francigena, the Camino to Rome) to reach the tomb of St Peter. Even today, Catholic bishops around the world are required to make the Ad Limina Apostolorum visit — literally "to the thresholds of the Apostles" — to the tombs of Peter and Paul every five years.
St Peter's as a measure of the world
In the floor of the main nave, inscriptions mark the lengths of the world's principal cathedrals compared to St Peter's. The silent message of those marks in the marble is always the same: nothing is larger.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does St Peter's have to do with the Protestant Reformation? The sale of indulgences to finance the construction of the new basilica was among the practices criticised by Luther in his 95 Theses of 1517. St Peter's is therefore one of the indirect causes of the division of Western Christianity.
Is John Paul II buried at St Peter's? Yes. After his death in 2005 he was buried in the Vatican Grottoes. Following his beatification in 2011, his remains were transferred to the Chapel of St Sebastian, in the right lateral nave of the upper basilica.
Where were the Vatican Councils held? In the Basilica of St Peter, which by reason of size is the only Catholic venue capable of hosting the entire world episcopal hierarchy.
Article no. 136 — TIER S — MON-07 San Pietro Type: HISTORICAL Words: ~1,000