You would be hard pressed to not find news about the recent resignation of the Pope Benedict XVI, considering he is the first one to do it in many centuries and the second Pope Benedict to resign. Not only was this a shock to the Catholic Church and much of the world, but it also manages to cause a unique change in the tourism to the Vatican. It is not just a matter of more people might be flocking to the Vatican more frequently, there are actual issues presented from the Papal Conclave using one of the main tourist attractions as their meeting grounds as well.
- Vatican TourismChodaboy / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
So then, what other kinds of unforeseen issues will occur around the election of a new pope over the next month.
No Audience
Normally each Wednesday in St Peter’s Square you will find the audience with the pope occurring. An event that is not only ticketed to control the people that attend, but consistent and offered with a variety of tours as a combination of providing a history background around the Catholic church with the securing of the tickets to see the pope give his sermon. However, since we will be without a pope for likely much of March. This means an entire month will go without a pope audience and unfortunately you can’t exactly plan a trip out for seeing the revealing of the pope since we won’t know exactly when the new Pope will be chosen, so you can’t substitute seeing that instead.
The Sistine Chapel
If there is any center for all the tours and tourist attractions that thrive in the Vatican, it would be the Sistine Chapel. The majority of guided tours through the Vatican tend to offer at least a quick stop into the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum that it is connected to. The problem is the Papal Conclave has been done in the Sistine Chapel for the past hundred and thirty years roughly. This means the newest one to occur will also likely occupy that same chapel. And as a few people in the tour business have already confirmed, they are unsure how the Sistine Chapel will be affected for their tours; however anything outside the Sistine Chapel will go on as normal. Chances are the Sistine chapel will be closed to everyone during the days of the Papal Conclave, which could be anywhere from a day to an entire month depending on how split in decisions that the conclave is at. After all, there is no such thing as a hung Papal Conclave.
The Flock of Crowds
Based on the previous Papal Conclave in 2005, it is almost guaranteed there will be a mass of people flocking to the Vatican during the time of the Papal Conclave despite the lack of accessing one of the more crucial Vatican Museum areas. Everyone wants to experience the pieces of history and the Pope election, regardless of whether you are Catholic or not, is an almost world-wide event. Everyone is bound to find out about it and it is almost like a world-wide presidential election. This means the streets are flooded with people to the point of some of them even camping out. This can make even non-touring travel around the Vatican frustrating. This means, unless you want to be there during the Papal Conclave, you are probably better off avoiding the approaching dates to side-step the crowds.
Despite all the changes that will need to be made briefly for plenty of the Vatican tours to account for the Papal Conclave, there is still plenty chance to experience this special chance. And it can almost be guaranteed that each of the options for Vatican tours will offer something as a replacement for the Sistine Chapel during this time. And it will probably be something just as amazing!
Sarah Murphy has worked in Dublin for the last two years as a blogger, web content manager and marketing coordinator. A journalist by training and travel junkie by nature, she regularly travels to Italy for both business and to experience some of the Rome tours, where she mostly spends her time in search of the perfect gelato.
