The image of the day might become an image for the ages, particularly if something historic comes from the moment. It occurred at the Vatican this weekend, with Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky both in Rome for the funeral Mass of Pope Francis on Saturday. Even the Trump-cynical CNN could not help but marvel at the “powerful image,” with the two men face-to-face in chairs surrounded by what CNN understatedly described as “the ornate surroundings of the Vatican just minutes before the start of Pope Francis’ funeral.”
For a pope who so often spoke of and prayed for peace and an end to the war in Ukraine, it’s profound that one of his final acts … was to bring together at the Vatican Trump and Zelensky.
Let me take the significance of those surroundings further, especially given that most news sources didn’t give the exact name of the location where the two faced off. The place was more than ornate; it was profound.
The spot where Trump and Zelensky met is St. Peter’s Basilica. Yes, the great church itself. The American and Ukrainian leaders sat positioned in chairs right there on the ornate marble floor, surrounded by the majestic columns and inspired paintings and tombs and architecture and altar. There inside that awesome, giant church to honor the 266th heir to the Chair of St. Peter, they spoke in the physical presence of St. Peter.
Yes, that’s literally true. They were actually seated above the bodily remains of St. Peter himself.
Here’s what makes St. Peter’s Basilica so special, particularly to Catholics but really for anyone: For all other churches around the world named after St. Peter, those buildings are merely that — named after St. Peter. But at the Vatican, the possessive in St. Peter’s Basilica is uniquely accurate, because that particular church is built over the bones of St. Peter.
Catholics consider Peter to be the first pope. Every pope who has followed is an heir to the so-called Chair of St. Peter. It was Jesus Christ who had said to his Apostle Peter: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)
Jesus Christ never made it to Rome, but Peter did and was martyred there around the year 64-68 A.D., crucified by one of history’s worst scoundrels, the Emperor Nero. The early Christians mourned and rushed to his remains and buried him there, not far from the pillar where he was scourged (that pillar still stands at St. Peter’s Square today). That incredible basilica was erected over Peter’s scourged and crucified corpse. (For a wonderful book on the rediscovery of those remains in the 1940s during the papacy of Pope Pius XII, see Thomas Craughwell’s fascinating St. Peter’s Bones.) Today’s altar where popes like Francis preside during Mass is situated above those bones. If you visit St. Peter’s Basilica, you can descend the steps to the left of the altar and go to the crypt and view the encasement (behind a glass wall) that contains the actual bones.
Thus, it really is St. Peter’s Basilica. And it was there that Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky suddenly and unexpectedly began talking again the Saturday following Easter Sunday.
A number of media sources (including the FoxNews website) blew the moment by not noting in their stories — or not knowing — that the two leaders met inside St. Peter’s Basilica itself, relating only that they “met in Rome.” That really missed the whole significance. To its credit, the BBC recognized the place as St. Peter’s Basilica and included a short video clip of the two interlocutors locked into conversation in chairs placed face-to-face by two cardinals who were present. “The pair were pictured locked in deep discussion, minutes before the late pontiff’s funeral was due to start,” reported the BBC on the 15-minute meeting. The Trump White House described it as “very productive” and Zelensky called it “very symbolic” with the “potential to become historic.”
Pope Francis’ Death May Be Providential
Indeed.
What this means, ironically, fittingly, perhaps Providentially, is that Pope Francis’ death the day after Easter Sunday made possible this striking meeting in no less than St. Peter’s Basilica between Trump and Zelensky. For a pope who so often spoke of and prayed for peace and an end to the war in Ukraine, it’s profound that one of his final acts before being entombed was to bring together at the Vatican Trump and Zelensky — last seen barking at each other in an historic Oval Office blowup.
Bravo, Papa Francesco. Bravo.
Here’s hoping — and praying — that that special place once again brings a lasting peace.