When Lightning Strikes the Vatican

There has been a lot of talk this week about the Vatican and the selection of the new pope. The conclave starts Tuesday, March 12th, and even though I am not Catholic, I will be curious to see what color smoke rises from the makeshift chimney. When I saw NBC News' video of a man putting a chimney up on a Vatican roof, I was reminded of that amazing lightning strike on the day Pope Benedict XVI told the world that he was resigning.

The photo was taken by professional French photographer, Filippo Monteforte. According to a report in USA Today, it was a stormy day and Monteforte thought that maybe lightning would strike, and if it did what a wonderful picture it would make. He waited for over two hours and witnessed two bolts of lightning strike St. Peter's Basilica.

There was some speculation that, perhaps, the photo was a fake. Jesse Ferrell, a weather and social media blogger on Accuweather.com, addressed this doubt in his post, Did Lightning Really Strike Vatican After Pope's Resignation?  

According to his blog post, Ferrell believes the photo is real. Some people expressed doubts because you can't see a reflection of light in the dome or on the wet street below. He explains that when lightning strikes it sends the current through the bolt dozens of times. The first number of times are too bright to capture on film. The last few times, however, aren't as strong or as bright. so that is when the bolt can be successfully photographed. At that stage the bolt has only "minimal reflection on nearby surfaces".

There was also the video that was taken and aired on BBC, thus giving the photograph more credibility. The video can be found on Youtube, was played in numerous news reports, and Ferrell also included it in his blog post.

Lightning is not a rare occurrence. In fact, National Geographic reports that lightning strikes the Earth more than a hundred times every second! Also, the common saying that "lightning doesn't strike twice" isn't true. Lightning doesn't keep track of where it has or hasn't been, all that it cares about is reaching the ground. Tall buildings, structures, and trees are very enticing. You never want to be the tallest object during a storm! You also don't want to take cover under the tallest object. Yes, that lone tree in the middle of the field may help keep you dry, but it is also the quickest route to the ground for lightning. Monteforte, the photographer, took a risk standing outside in the storm to get his now historic photograph.

St. Peters Basilica isn't the only building to be struck by lightning. 7 Most Incredible Skyscrapers Being Struck by Lightning offers more amazing pictures. I could not find other occurrences of the Basilica being struck by lightning, but that doesn't necessarily mean it hasn't happened before. Lightning striking on a random Wednesday wouldn't be much cause for alarm or speculation. Lightning striking the day the pope resigns... well, that will get people talking.