Latest exhibit at Knights' museum features model of St. Peter's dome

Published: 2003-12-18

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CNS) -- St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the most renowned church in the world, is a living monument that's evolved over centuries. Now, the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven is presenting a good part of the basilica's story in a major exhibit called "Creating St. Peter's: Architectural Treasures of the Vatican." "We have a unique exhibit of priceless objects here for the first time in the United States," said Carl Anderson, supreme knight. "For the Knights it's a way of telling the story of our faith and of the Catholic people." This exhibit highlights the design and construction of St. Peter's and its continuing development through more than 100 Vatican treasures of art and artifacts from the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Vatican office responsible for maintaining and preserving the basilica. All these artifacts "are in Rome but not in the same place," said Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, who was on hand for the show's opening Dec. 10. Visitors to this exhibit are fortunate "because you have collected here what is in the basilica in different places," he added.

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