The sexual abuse summit’s second full day will be February 22, feast of the Chair of St Peter, the liturgical commemoration of the Petrine office. Bishops who go to St Peter’s for early morning Mass or to visit the Blessed Sacrament will see the basilica on its most impressive day.
Three-foot tall tapers illuminate Bernini’s magnificent sculpture of the cathedra Petri, underneath the glorious Holy Spirit window and supported by 13ft-tall figures of four doctors of the Church – Ambrose, Athanasius, Chrysostom and Augustine. Set ablaze with light for its feast day, Bernini’s cathedra Petri is even more magnificent than his baldacchino masterpiece over the main altar.
