'Art and Faith': Video projection on St. Peter's Basilica

By Vatican News staff writer

Beginning Sunday 2 October at 9 pm, a special video showing the life of St. Peter will be projected onto the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Follow me” is part of a new “Art and Faith” program organized by the pastoral side of St. Peter’s Basilica to examine and contemplate the life and influence of the great saint.

The projections will run every day from Sunday 2 October to Sunday 16 October, lasting approximately 8 minutes.

‘Art and Faith’ Initiatives

The video project “Follow Me” is the first leg of the “Art and Faith” program, and invites pilgrims to visit the Basilica and make the pilgrimage to the Tomb of Peter.

Proposals for the initiatives include various lectures on the saint, and spiritual itineraries to places where St. Peter visited and walked in the city of Rome.

They provide visitors with multiple opportunities to encounter St. Peter and meditate on his human and divine experiences.

The hope is that by encountering St. Peter in these places, and through these experiences, pilgrims may be inspired by the example of the saint to live fully in meeting with the Lord, leaving renewed.

The video

The video illustrates who St. Peter was by reviewing important moments in Peter’s life, including his call to follow Jesus as a disciple, his missions and his martyrdom.

Designed around the façade of the Basilica, the video integrates the architecture into the images in the video.

The images for the video were taken from a series of paintings and icons from the vast collection of art within the Basilica and the Vatican Museums, using high-tech tools to combine images, words, and sounds for the sensory experience.

Pastoral Groups of the Basilica

To accommodate the spiritual and material needs of the building and those who enter, St. Peter’s Basilica utilizes groups including the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Vicariate of the Vatican City State, the Vatican Chapter, the Parish of St. Peter, and the Fratelli tutti Foundation.

These groups are responsible for the organization of the special initiatives on the life of St. Peter, including the video projection.