Sistine Chapel

Overview

The Sistine Chapel is the principal chapel of the Apostolic Palace, the residence of the pope in Vatican City. It is an active papal chapel, used for liturgies through the year, and the site of the conclave, the gathering in which Catholic cardinals elect a new pope. Its ceiling and altar wall, painted by Michelangelo, draw millions of visitors each year through the Vatican Museums. Vatican City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Present

The Sistine Chapel is open daily as part of the Vatican Museums, through which millions of people pass each year, and is an active chapel of the papal household. The pope celebrates Mass in the chapel on certain feast days, including the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, when newborn children are baptized there. Whenever the papacy falls vacant, the chapel is closed to visitors and the conclave meets beneath its frescoes; the burning of the cardinals' ballots produces the smoke that announces the outcome to the crowds outside.

Religious Significance

The Sistine Chapel serves the pope, whom Catholics regard as the successor of the apostle Peter and the head of the Catholic Church, and it is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, the Catholic belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken body and soul into heaven. Its role in the conclave gives the chapel a singular place in Catholic life: cardinals gather under its ceiling to elect each new pope, casting their ballots in secrecy before the altar. The chapel's frescoes present the Christian account of the world from its beginning to its end. The ceiling depicts scenes from Genesis, the first book of the Bible, including the creation of Adam, the first human being; the side walls pair scenes from the life of Moses, the prophet who according to Jewish and Christian tradition led the Israelites out of Egypt, with scenes from the life of Jesus; and the altar wall carries the Last Judgment, the Christian belief that all people will be judged by Christ at the end of time.

History & Structure

The Sistine Chapel was built between 1477 and 1480 for Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it takes its name. It is a rectangular brick building with a plain exterior; the interior is a single hall about 40 metres long and 13 metres wide beneath a curved vault about 20 metres high. In the 1480s, painters including Botticelli and Perugino frescoed the side walls with scenes from the lives of Moses and Jesus. Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512 for Pope Julius II, and returned to paint the Last Judgment on the altar wall between 1536 and 1541. The first papal conclave held in the chapel elected Pope Alexander VI in 1492. A restoration completed in 1999 cleaned the ceiling and the Last Judgment. The chapel is part of Vatican City, the independent papal state within Rome and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Additional Resources

• Official website: Vatican Museums: Sistine Chapel
• Related: Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Smarthistory)
• UNESCO: Vatican City
• Book: Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King (2003)