Yet this austerity invites prayer and contemplation. Pilgrims, while meditating, will not fail to notice the cameo paintings of the popes. They line the upper walls above the columned arches and include the 264 popes to date. Pope John Paul II is above the right aisle, near the right transept. The spiritual serenity of the church extends into the delightful 13th-century cloisters that, luckily, escaped the fire.
Roses bloom amid boxwood hedges.
The covered cloister walkways are lined with columns some twisted, some smooth encrusted with gems and mosaics. There are all types of artifacts plaques, inscriptions, urns and sarcophagi to be seen. They were recovered from the old cemetery where St. Paul was buried. While exploring the cloisters, I remembered that it was here that a historic announcement was made, one that would bring tremendous changes to the Church. In coming to the Eternal City, pilgrims today join the ranks of those who have been making Holy Year pilgrimages to Rome for seven centuries.