Yesterday (5/16/23) I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the Vatican. A place filled with immense history and colossal influence, it is the center of Catholicism and home to the Pope. Millions come here every year to pray, make pilgrimage, or simply admire the architecture and history. In this post, I would like to share my experience in the Vatican as well as offer some interpretive thoughts as a Protestant visiting this historic place.

To be clear upfront, I am unashamedly a Protestant, Evangelical Christian. By that classification, I align with the Reformers of the 1500’s and 1600’s such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Martin Bucer. These men spent their lives defending and promoting central evangelical doctrines such as “justification by faith alone” and “sola scriptura.” Not only would the Reformers argue that these doctrines are biblical—and central to understanding the true gospel—but they would also say that central Catholic doctrines (e.g., transubstantiation, prayers to the saints, salvation infused by sacraments) are unbiblical and, in reality, detrimental to the essential elements of the gospel. I will get into these issues as I walk through my experience, but suffice it to say, as a Protestant, I did not come into the Vatican as a neutral observer (in fact, no one does). 

The Walkthrough

The Vatican itself is its own country within Italy. So when you come upon the domain, you can quickly tell you are near the Vatican when you see the massive brick walls surrounding the entire estate. As we passed by in the car, a line of people wrapped around the walls waiting to enter. Our trip guide had bought us express tickets, so we were fortunate enough to enter right away. 

Upon entering the walls, we followed the line of people through security and into the main lobby. On a TV screen videos of the Pope were displayed, showing his most recent visitations. After ascending a huge escalator, we walked out on a massive terrace on which you could see St. Peter’s Basilica in the far distance. The Basilica was clearly the focal point of the first stop, and, as our tour guide explained: “no building in Rome can be built above it.” It was clear from this point that the entire tour would revolve around getting to this building. 

On the way there, we traversed through countless rooms full of artifacts, statues, paintings and tapestries—multiple displays to flaunt the history and decadence of the Roman Church. The ceilings were ornate, filled with paintings and depictions of various events throughout the Bible or saints in the Church (see photo below). The whole time the line of people never died down (and this was supposedly a slow day). 

Finally we arrived at the famous counterpart to St. Peter’s Basilica: the Sistine Chapel. We were not allowed to take pictures while in the Chapel as it is a “holy place,” nor were we supposed to talk. However, at one point the crowd got so loud that an official had to speak over the intercom: “Silencio…Silence…No pictures…” 

On the ceiling and walls of the Chapel Michaelangelo’s famous paintings served as the central attraction drawing everyone’s eyes. “The Last Judgment” and “The Creation of Adam” are the two most famous pieces. Apparently, the Pope forced Michaelangelo to paint against his wishes, for Michaelangelo neither favored nor appreciated the power and prestige of the Roman Pontiff.

St. Peter’s Basilica

Upon exiting the Sistine Chapel, we were led through several flights of stairs downward to an outside exit. As soon as we turned right, the grand Basilica appeared. Ornate and decorated with statues of saints on top, this Basilica is the central focus point of the entire Catholic Church. 

Once we entered we immediately noticed the beauty of the architecture, mosaic tiles, and expressive statues. I will let the pictures do the speaking and make small comments along the way. 

A Protestant Interpretation

There is no doubt that the Vatican is one of the most beautiful, historic, and renowned places in all the earth. However, as I walked through, I couldn’t help but be sad at how hidden the true gospel of Jesus Christ is from everyone who enters and leaves. And while the Basilica is a beautiful building on the inside, the gospel is obscured much like a thick layer of clouds darkens the sun. In fact, I am afraid that anyone who comes in wishing to meet God is actually met with an outward appearance of true religion masquerading under the guise of works and idol worship. Why do I say this? Well, somewhat ironically, I will use Paul’s letter to the Roman church to show why. 

When Paul wrote to the Roman church, he declared that the “gospel is the power of salvation for everyone who believes…for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, ‘the righteous shall live by faith’” (Rm 1:16-17). And when Martin Luther, 1500 years after Paul, “rediscovered” the doctrine of “justification by faith alone” after it had been obscured under the dark cloud of sacramental theology, he found the essence of the gospel depended on one phrase: “the righteousness of God.”

The Problem with the Mass

For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church taught that the sacraments (of which there are 7) literally “infused” grace into one’s soul much like a medicinal vaccine infuses protection into one’s body. In this view, the Mass is central. The priest (ordained by God) is the only able to administer this “grace” to the masses. If one does not take Mass, he or she will not take injections of “grace,” and therefore will be damned. Thus, to be “righteous,” one must participate in the sacraments according to the Roman Catholic understanding. 

More than this, the Roman Catholic Church (both in Luther’s time and still today) believes that the elements of the Mass (the bread and wine), literally become the body and blood, respectively, of Jesus Christ. In this sense, it makes it all the more important to partake of the Mass, for if you do not, you do not have “any part” with Jesus, who becomes the bread and wine. 

So why is this problematic? When the Pope stands upon Peter’s tomb and administers the Mass, what is the big deal? Is he not just doing what Jesus said to do, to “remember” him? Well no, because it all comes back to Luther’s understanding of the “righteousness of God.” 

Before Luther had his breakthrough with Romans 1:17, he struggled for years to believe he was “good enough” (righteous) before a holy God. For him, the “righteousness of God” meant God’s right justice and wrath against sinners like him. Thought he participated in the sacraments and had this temporary, “infused” grace, he never felt secure in his salvation. For him (and for millions today), the Catholic Church taught that to be “saved,” or “justified,” you must keep up your good standing as a Catholic. 

Yet this is directly contradictory to what the Bible teaches. In fact, as I walked through the Vatican, I noticed how little Bible there actually was. Instead, the Basilica relied on images, statues, and the Mass to tell me what the “gospel” was—if there even was one. In the Roman building, sadly, there was a clear lack of the book of Romans, which contains the clearest presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ for sinners in need of salvation. The place where Paul longed to go those 2,000 years ago to preach the gospel now promotes a false one, one of which Paul would be appalled. Read the following verses from Romans to understand how one is “justified,” or saved, according to God’s Word:

“There is no one righteous, not even one” -Rm 3:10

“For no one will be justified in [God’s] sight by the works of the law” -Rm 3:20

“The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ” -Rm 3:22-24

“God presented [Jesus] to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous (justify) the one who has faith in Jesus.” -Rm 3:26

So how is one “made righteous,” or “justified,” according to Paul? The answer lies in one phrase: faith in Jesus Christ. This was Luther’s breakthrough. After spending years in turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church trying to prove his own righteousness before God, he realized that he was never meant to be righteous himself. No, the answer has always been “faith in Jesus Christ,” who was put forward as an “atoning sacrifice” to wash away all our sin. In this way, God is righteous because Jesus paid for our sin, but He is also able to declare us as righteous because Jesus gave us his perfect account. So when one places his faith in Jesus’ work alone, God declares that sinner justified, or made right, before Him. This is the evangelical gospel, as opposed to the “infusion” of grace in the Mass which the Roman Church promotes today. 

The Problem with the Pope, Saints & Mary

As if the central question of justiciation was not enough, the Catholic Church further obscures the gospel by their elevation (can I say worship?) of the Pope, Saints, and Mary. 

The Catholic Church believes that the papacy is in direct succession to the Apostle Peter, who was apparently the first “bishop” of Rome in the early church. Because Peter was the “apostle of apostles” and the church’s foundation, the bishop of Rome is therefore the most important position in the church. Once the Roman Empire fell, the Church filled the vacancy of power by elevating the bishop of Rome to the title of “pope,” or “father.” Since then, this one man has received prestige, power, and position far superior to any other person on earth. And this has not come without consequence. 

For instance, scroll back up to the picture of that door. Once every 50 years, the Pope breaks down this door to allow pilgrims to come into the Basilica and receive a plenary indulgence whereby ALL of their sins can be forgiven at his word. Does this sound strange? If one reads their Bible it should, for Paul tells Timothy there is only “one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tm 2:5-6). In other words, a sinner does not need to have a priest, pope, Mary or any other saint to forgive his sins; he only needs Jesus, who “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). We don’t need a pope to break down a door every 50 years to open up salvation; the door is Jesus Christ himself, who became sin for us, that we might become righteous before God. If one simply and humbly comes to God (who is the only one who can forgive sins), and looks to Jesus, who became the sacrifice for our sins on the cross, he or she can have assurance of forgiveness.

So here is the central problem with the pope, Mary, and all the other saints: they take the place of Jesus. If Romans 3:10 is true when it says “there is no one righteous,” then no man or woman (whether they are called a pope or saint) can be a mediator between God and sinners. Only Jesus, who is truly God and truly man, can save sinners. Let us go back to Paul’s words to the Romans: “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” (Rm 5:1-2)  

How does one obtain access to God in this verse? Not through the pope or a priest, or the intercession of the saints, but only by faith in Jesus. If you have been declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus, you have full access to God the Father. And this is good news. 

If You Visit the Vatican…

To conclude, I said at the beginning of the post that visiting the Vatican was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” This is certainly true for the travel experience. The buildings are beautiful and the architecture is awe-inspiring. But for anyone seeking God, you don’t need to have this experience. You only need to visit Jesus, who is Himself more beautiful than a Basilica and more powerful than a pope. He says “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest for your souls” (Mt 11:28). He also says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). And for final assurance, He declares “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).

I certainly am grateful for my visit to the Vatican, but walking through, I couldn’t help but think about all the people who walked through—people in need of grace and salvation just like me—who will never see the true gospel of Jesus Christ…and for that I am grieved.