Today is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Here are some images, in no particular order, pertaining to St. Peter and some of his successors.
Statue of St. Peter in the basilica named for him. Notice how the feet have been worn smooth from the veneration of the faithful.
Image of Bl. Pope Pius IX above the statue of St. Peter with an inscription placed there by Pius IX indicating that the length of his pontificate surpassed that of St. Peter.
Ostia. There is an old tradition that if a newly-elected Pope was not a bishop, he would be consecrated at the earliest reasonable time — usually by the Bishop of Ostia, preserving the tradition that a metropolitan archbishop is consecrated by his most notable suffragan bishop.
Blessed Innocent XI (St. Peter’s Basilica)
Pope St. Leo the Great (St. Peter’s Basilica)
Pope St. Gregory the Great (St. Peter’s Basilica)
Pope St. Pius V (Santa Maria Maggiore)
Blessed Pope John XXIII (St. Peter’s Basilica)
Pope Pius XII (St. Peter’s Basilica)
Pope Pius XI (St. Peter’s Basilica)
The first tomb of Bl. Pope John Paul II (St. Peter’s Basilica)
Tomb of Pope Leo XIII (Basilica of St. John Lateran)
The Sistine Chapel, where Popes are elected
A monument to Pope Benedict XV on the left; the body of Pope St. Pius X on the right. (St. Peter’s Basilica)
This tomb contains the bones of three Popes who died in Perugia: Bl. Innocent III, Urban IV, and Martin IV. (Duomo of Perugia)
Tomb of Pope Julius II (San Pietro in Vincoli [St. Peter’s in Chains] Rome)
The chains of St. Peter (St. Pietro in Vincoli – Rome)
Body of Pope St. Pius X (St. Peter’s Basilica)
The Mamertine Prison, where St. Peter was kept with St. Paul. Note the upside-down cross on the altar, indicating how St. Peter was crucified. (Rome)
Pope St. Leo IX (St. Peter’s Basilica)
The Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope’s Cathedral, is the mother and head of all churches of the city (Rome) and the world.
Pope Benedict XVI (Emeritus)
Swiss Guards, protectors of the Popes
Castel’Sant Angelo, the Papal fortress
Under the windows of the Pope.
Vatican City State, with St. Peter’s and the Apostolic Palace.
Pope Benedict XVI was still awake.
Piazza San Pietro
The Chair of St. Peter (St. Peter’s Basilica)