VATICAN CORNER
Why is there a four thousand year old Egyptian obelisk in the center of St. Peter’s Square? An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument made from a single stone with a pyramid-like shape at the top. There are 28 obelisks still standing throughout the world, and those outside Egypt were either plundered by foreign invaders or given as gifts by the Egyptian government. Thirteen stand in Rome, more than anywhere else, including Egypt, which has 6 left. The ones in Rome were brought there by various Roman Emperors. Obelisks were constructed by the ancient Egyptians long before the birth of Christ. They were placed in pairs at the entrance to temples. No one knows exactly why they were built, but it is thought that they are associated with the Egyptian sun god, and perhaps represented rays of light. They were often topped with gold, or a natural gold-silver alloy, in order to catch the first rays of the morning light. No one knows exactly how they were constructed. The granite stone used is very hard and the metal tools of the time were too soft. The Egyptians likely used hammers made of dolerite, a harder stone, and it would have taken hundreds of workers a tremendous amount of time and effort to carve out an obelisk from the quarry and then transport it to its final destination and stand it upright. The obelisk in St. Peter’s Square is call the Vatican Obelisk, and is the only ancient Egyptian obelisk in Rome to have remained standing since Roman times. Little is known of its origins or which Egyptian Pharaoh ordered its construction, but it was quarried in Egypt from red granite and intended to be erected in Heliopolis, Egypt. History tells us the Roman Emperor Augustus ordered it to be placed in the Julian Forum in Alexandria, Egypt between 30 and 28 BC. The Roman Emperor Caligula had it brought to Rome in 37 AD. Many Egypt obelisks were inscribed with hieroglyphics, the Egyptians formal writing system, but this obelisk was the largest non-inscribed one to leave Egypt, at 84 feet tall and 326 tons. It was originally erected in the Emperor’s gardens, and then moved to the center point of Caligula’s circus of which much of the St. Peter’s Basilica and square now cover. “It was a silent witness of the martyrdom of St. Peter and many other Christian at that Circus. The original spot for the obelisk was near the present-day sacristy, standing there for 1,500 years until it was moved to its present location in Saint Peter’s Square. In 1585 that move of 275 yards took thirteen months, used 900 workmen, 140 horses and 44 winches. The move was the idea of Pope Sixtus V, to put it in a featured location. The large metal ball on top of the obelisk was long thought to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar, but during the relocation, the ball was removed and found to be empty. The ball was replaced with a cross containing a relic of the true Cross to put an end to the obelisk’s “impure superstition”. So, although it had come from a pagan culture, it had been thoroughly “baptized” and now stands as an expression of the conquering power of the Church. As a side note, the Vatican Obelisk has formulas of exorcism inscribed into its east and west sides, and it also works as a sundial, telling time.