Father Bob Simon of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Pennsylvania, spent 10 months recreating a LEGO model of the Vatican. Sparing no detail, he used around half a million LEGO bricks to assemble a miniature, yet highly elaborate St. Peter's Square, complete with the Pope waving from the Vatican Balcony.
Simon created his first LEGO model of the Vatican back in seventh grade. The simple replica was made out of red and blue bricks. His interest in LEGO, and possibly his spirituality, were piqued when construction of a parish church began in his backyard. The heavy machinery, such as the bulldozers, fascinated him. Today, he claims to have assurance over two things: his calling as a priest and his love for LEGOs, thus, the creation of Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica church LEGO.
"It was an exercise in patience, and I was thrilled with the way that everything came out," explained Simon in an interview about the project. The toy building brick may be for kids of all ages, but it was not all fun and games for the 50-year-old priest.
"I was probably most scared of doing the dome. It's not easy to do circular things in LEGO bricks, since most of them are square," he continued. He went to YouTube for guidance on how to replicate the basilica's dome shape and developed the whole of the model based on a book cover image of the Vatican. Simon would arrive home and invest hours assembling the model, brick by brick. "It was a good time of prayer," he stated.
The end product involved 44,000 cobblestones for the square, "6,000 round bricks" for the colonnade, and "12,000 2x2 tiles" below everything. It included LEGO people from all walks of life, from an Elvis impersonator to a nun with a selfie stick.
"I wanted to show this that the church extends this great welcome to everyone," Simon said in another interview. His labor was not in vain, as news of this intricate mini-Vatican captured the fascination of the Internet and began to make worldwide headlines.
The Franklin Institute features the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica church LEGO in celebration of the September 2015 U.S. Papal Visit. It is also meant to be part of the museum's Vatican Splendors Exhibit.
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