Sounds like at least two JWs have visited the Vatican Library.
g88 7/22 p. 19 I Wanted to See for Myself ***
‘Where are the manuscripts from which my Bible was translated?’ I had often asked myself. How can it be determined how old they are? How have they been preserved through the ages? And after so many centuries, can we be sure that they accurately represent the original Bible writings? My own faith in the Bible is now secure, but having been brought up to believe that the Bible is a clever fraud, questions like these have always intrigued me. My curiosity led me to visit some of the most famous libraries in Europe while I was traveling there. My first visit was to Rome, Italy, where hundreds of Bible manuscripts are to be found.
BEHIND the towering walls and tight security of castlelike Vatican City, a person gets the impression that he is entering a real treasure-house. The Vatican Library is in the courtyard of the pope’s palace, and so special permission to enter is required of visitors.
Here is preserved the famous Vatican Manuscript No. 1209, or Codex Vaticanus, which usually is referred to by the symbol "B." It contains the Hebrew Scriptures and much of the Christian Greek Scriptures dating back to the early fourth century C.E., less than 300 years after the days of the apostles. It has been in the possession of the Vatican Library at least since 1481, but it was not made available to the academic world until 1889-90.
My first impression was that the writing was surprisingly clear and unfaded. Apparently the original ink faded, and a later scribe traced over every letter, thereby robbing the codex of much of its original beauty. The Vaticanus, like practically all manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures in Greek, is a codex, a book with leaves, rather than a roll. It is written on vellum (a fine grade of parchment), a writing material prepared from the skins of young animals.
And evidently this JW reporter visited the Vatican library
*** g75 1/8 p. 24 An Interesting Tour of the Vatican ***
Gardens,
Museums and a Noted LibraryThe Vatican also is a place of beautiful gardens, various museums and noteworthy galleries. In the Pio-Clementine Museum, an altar bearing bas-reliefs shows Victory carrying a shield with the inscription: "The Senate and People of Rome have dedicated this altar to the Emperor Augustus, son of the deified Caesar, in his capacity as Pontilex Maximus." This title (literally meaning "Greatest Bridge Maker"), once borne by the head of Rome’s pagan priesthood and eventually by its emperors, was rejected by Emperor Gratian as unbefitting a Christian. Pope Damasus I of the fourth century gladly assumed it, however, and it remains a papal title to this day.
A treasure trove of manuscripts and books—that is the Vatican library. Besides some 1,000,000 printed books, it is the repository of over 90,000 manuscripts. Among these is the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209, a valuable Greek Biblical codex of the fourth century C.E.
I do know of a sister who went to Italy on one of those WTS international tours and visiting the Vatican was one of the tourist trips organized by the WTS.
Blondie
