Dear Friends in Christ,

We are just one week away from the beginning of Holy Week and the celebration of the Paschal Triduum, namely Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. As we begin this week, the Universal Church enters into a time called “Passiontide,” a time in which our focus is drawn towards Jesus’s Passion in a deeper way. When we enter into the Church this Sunday, we notice that all the statues and crosses are covered with purple cloth, a reminder that the Saints recede into the background as Jesus and his sufferings come more to our attention. As we get closer to Holy Week, it is my prayer that you accompany Jesus on his road to Calvary. 

In this week’s letter, in continuation in our journey through the Roman Station Churches, our attention is drawn towards the Basilica of St. Peter’s, also known as the Vatican. As you may recall, we discussed this same Basilica in a previous letter in November 2024 where we learned about the life and death of St. Peter, and how his bones are located within the Basilica walls within the lower crypt. Here in this letter, I invite us to focus our attention on a number of key features in St. Peter’s that can help us enter more fully into Passiontide.

First, within the center of the Basilica is the High Altar. This altar is strictly reserved for Masses that are presided by the Holy Father, and it is covered by a massive bronze canopy, called the “Baldacchino of Bernini,” which acts as a giant ciborium. As one looks at this magnificent work of architecture and art, one’s attention is drawn to four massive statues that stand at the four corners of the central crossing of the Basilica. Each of these statues depict a saint that is related to Jesus’s Passion. One of them is a statue of St. Helena, the woman responsible for finding the True Cross in Jerusalem in the early 300s.

Another important piece of artwork that is kept in St. Peter’s Basilica is a statue of Jesus in the arms of the Blessed Mother after his crucifixion. This statue is known as “The Pietà,” and it was sculpted by an artist named Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1498-1499. This dramatic depiction of Jesus’s Passion invites us to ponder a tender moment in the life of Mary, and has been one of the most important sculptures in the history of Western art. To this day, many attempt to make copies of this statue, but none can match the intricacy and skillfulness of Michelangelo’s work.

As we approach Holy Week, I pray that these works of art will help us to ponder Jesus’ great sacrifice for our salvation.

May Christ's Peace be with you, Fr. Briggs