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Shedding new light on the Sistine Chapel
01:46 - Source: CNN

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Approximately 150 homeless people invited to tour Vatican City

The visit, organized by Office of Papal Charities, includes stops to museums, Sistine Chapel

CNN  — 

Vatican City is accustomed to welcoming millions of visitors to its grounds each year, but Thursday a very special tour group got a look inside.

Approximately 150 homeless people were divided into three groups and ushered through the Petriano entrance next to St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican paper L’Osservatore Romano.

“The poor, who usually see only the steps outside the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square, will also have a chance to enjoy the Vatican’s artistic patrimony,” the paper wrote.

The Office of Papal Charities arranged the special visit, which included a visit to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.

Other stops included the Domus Sanctae Marthae, behind St. Peter’s Basilica, through the piazzale della Zecca, the main path of the Gardens and the Cancello di Gregogio.

The paper said the visit would be led by Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, who heads the department “charged with exercising charity to the poor in the name of the Holy Spirit.”