Attend Mass in St Peters Basilica

If you are in Vatican City, do try to attend a mass in St Peters Basilica. There are many masses daily and attending one is an experience that you wont want to miss. But, you should remember that it is a mass and not a photo opportunity for tourists, so please show the due respect when attending a mass here. There are many altars in St Peter's Basilica where you can attend the mass. However, the Papal altar located under Bernini's Canopy is only used for masses given by the Pope.

St. Peter's Basilica is the most important church in the world. The cornerstone of this church was laid more than 500 years ago, in 1506. The magnificent altars and monuments inside the church are too numerous to mention, but even those who aren't art aficionados will be wowed by what they'll find inside this amazing basilica, including more works by the renowned sculptor/architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini and also Michelangelo's Pieta. A must watch is the Baldacchino, this monumental canopy shelters the papal altar and the holy relics of St. Peter. Artistically, it also serves to fill the vertical space under Michelangelo's great dome. It is made of dark bronze accented with gold vine leaves.

At the foot of the Baldacchino and papal altar is the sunken Confessio, a 17th-century sunken chapel honoring the confession of St. Peter that led to his martyrdom on Vatican Hill. His tomb is behind the Niche of the Pallium and it contains a silver coffer with fabrics each known as a "pallium" woven from the wool of lambs blessed on the feast of St. Agnes Jan 21 and given to patriarchs and metropolitans as a reminder of the Church's unity. Attending Mass in the mesmerising St Peters Basilica is really a divine experience.