One priest from Pennsylvania spent ten long months recreating the Vatican from Lego for an upcoming visit from the Pope.
Father Bob Simon made a replica of St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square, using YouTube videos and an image from a book to get an idea of the scope of what he needed to do.
The entire structure was made without glue, and after Simon built his first Vatican in seventh grade, he clearly felt it was time for another attempt.
It took around half a million pieces to make, including 44,000 cobblestones in the square, 6,000 round bricks that make up the colonnade and 12,000 2×2 tiles, not to mention a serious amount of willpower and patience to get to the end.
Simon, who has been to the Vatican five times, claimed:
It was daunting.
It was an exercise in patience, and I was thrilled with the way everything came out.
I’m also not really great at math, so I was daunted by that as well.
In case anyone wanted to accuse him of not being up to date with the 21st century, there is even a nun with a selfie stick, and of course a figure of Simon.
It measures 14 feet by 6 feet and weighs about 100 pounds, and will be on display at the Franklin Institute, as part of an exhibit on the history of the Vatican.
