Wild Release #1024

Mom and I visited the Vatican Splendors exhibit at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh this afternoon. It was extremely crowded—too crowded, really, to fully appreciate what we were seeing. The number of people wasn't the only disappointing thing about the exhibit. I was also annoyed that a good number of the splendors were just replicas. Who wants to pay to see replicas? I wanted to see the real thing. The only piece in the exhibit that you were allowed to touch was a bronze cast of Pope John Paul II's right hand. You could put your own hand in the impression made by his hand, but I'm not sure what the purpose of that was. Just to compare your hand to his? It would have been far more personal, effective, and meaningful if they would have let you grasp the part of the cast that looked like his hand, so you could feel like you were holding his hand. By far, the best part of the exhibit came at the end where they were showing the splendors of several local churches, including a collection of reliquaries (pieces of saints' remains), vestments, crosiers, chalices, monstrances, statues, and paintings. It was an exhausting day. I barely had the energy to remember to release "Broken Angels," by Richard Morgan, on a windowsill outside the History Center on our way back to the car.