The height from the pavement to the cross
rivals the height of the Washington monument. The nave is 607 feet in
length, and the transept is 445 feet. St. Paul's at London covers only
two acres, St. Peter's five acres. The cost of the former was $3,750,000,
the cost of the latter from $60,000,000 to $80,000,000.
The Harrises visited St. John Lateran, the mother-church of the Eternal
City, where Popes were crowned, and where on Ascension Day, from one of
its balconies, the Pope's benediction to the people is pronounced.
They also visited the restored St. Paul's Church outside the walls. Its
interior is of vast dimensions. It was built of valuable materials, and
the whole is very imposing. Especially was Lucille impressed with the
long series of portrait medallions of all the Popes from St. Peter to Leo
X. worked in mosaic above the polished columns.
Many monuments in St. Peter's were erected to the memory of several of
the famous Popes. The Vatican, the largest palace in Europe, is where the
Popes came to reside after their return from Avignon, France, in 1377,
for here they felt much security in the vicinity of the Castle S. Angelo,
with which it communicated by a covered gallery.
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