Inside one of the basilica's small chapels, I watched my mother pray. There was only her and the sacred.
I wasn't there because of my own religious faith. I was there beside my mother.
Throughout my childhood, she believed in prayer with a certainty I have never forgotten. Whenever one of her children or grandchildren felt afraid or overwhelmed, she would always say, "Leave it with me. I'll light a candle and say a prayer. God never abandons me."
Watching her inside St. Peter's Basilica, praying with tears in her eyes, I realised that her faith had always been another way of loving and protecting our family.
As she explored every corner of the basilica, took photographs on her phone and chose rosaries to bring home to her friends, I couldn't stop thinking about our family, especially my grandmother, who would certainly have wanted to share that moment with us.
That day wasn't only about visiting one of the most important churches in the world. It was about sharing an impossible dream with the woman who made me believe that impossible things can happen.
I don't remember only visiting St. Peter's Basilica. I remember walking through the Vatican with my mother, quietly observing every detail together. For the first time in our lives, it was just the two of us.
- Language
- Italian, English
- A detail
- Watching my mother praying alone inside one of the basilica's chapels.
- Order
- Catholic Church (Holy See)
- Dedication
- Saint Peter the Apostle
Some places become important because of their history. Others because of the people standing beside us when we first see them.
St. Peter's Basilica is both.
It is impossible not to admire its architecture, its scale and centuries of history. Yet none of those things are what I remember first.
I remember my mother.
I remember her stopping to pray, looking around with childlike wonder, asking questions about every corner of the church and smiling as she chose rosaries to take back to Brazil.
Architecture brought me here.
My mother is the reason this place stayed with me.
Mass times to be confirmed.