St Paul's bone found in Rome

[mathewjoseph]

Pope Benedict announced today that fragments of bone from the first or second century had been found in a tomb in the Basilica of St Paul in Rome.

“This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition that these are the mortal remains on the Apostle Paul,” the pontiff said at St Paul’s-Outside-the-Walls, on the eve of the Feasts of St Peter and St Paul celebrated tomorrow.

Peter and Paul are revered by Christians as the greatest early missionaries. Converting on the road to Damascus following a blinding vision of Jesus, Paul took the Gospel to pagan Greeks and Romans and met his martyrdom in Rome in about AD 65.

Christian tradition had it that St Paul was buried together with St Peter in a catacomb on the Via Appia, before being moved to the basilica erected in his honour. For centuries it was believed that his remains were buried beneath the altar.

But it was not until a stone sarcophagus was discovered there in 2006 that Vatican archeologists could apply scientific research to the religious tradition.

The first results come during the “Pauline Year”, when the Roman Catholic church has been celebrating the second millennium of the birth of the “Apostle of the Gentiles”.

Pope Benedict gave details of the discovery, saying a tiny hole had been drilled in the sarcophaguus to permit inspection of the interior, revealing “traces of a precious linen cloth, purple in colour, laminated with pure gold, and a blue coloured textile with filaments of linen”.

“It also revealed the presence of grains of red incense and traces of protein and limestone. There were also tiny fragments of bone, which, when subjected to Carbon 14 tests by experts, turned out to belong to someone who lived in the first or second century,” said the Pope.

The discovery of the bone fragments coincided with news that Vatican archaeologists had discovered what they believe is the oldest image in existence of St Paul, dating from the late 4th century, on the walls of catacomb beneath Rome.

Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano , revealing the find today, published a picture of a frescoed image of the face of a man with a pointed black beard on a red background, inside a bright yellow halo. The high forehead is furrowed.

Experts of the Ponitifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology made the discovery on June 19 in the Catacomb of Santa Tecla in Rome and described it as the “oldest icon in history dedicated to the cult of the Apostle”, according to the Vatican newspaper.

Early Christians in Rome buried their dead in catacombs dug into the soft rock under the city and decorated the underground walls with devotional images, often in the Pompeian style.

 

[maria_rose]

this is awesome. Is there a link to the whole article?

 

[Jolly_Joe]

What significance would bones from the second century have? Seems like it was decided they were Paul and everything is simply seen as confirming it when it doesn’t necessarily.

Hopefully they at least are human this time.

 

[mathewjoseph]

TWO THOUSAND years of tradition and legend have held that the bones of Paul of Tarsus lie in the basilica of St Paul Without The Walls. Now, Pope Benedict XVI says, science has confirmed it.

In his Sunday night homily in the basilica, marking yesterday’s feast day of saints Peter and Paul, the pope said carbon-fibre tests carried out on the tomb long believed to contain St Paul’s remains found traces of purple linen, incense and bones: “This surely confirms the unanimous and uncontested belief that the tomb contains the mortal remains of the apostle Paul.”

Catholic tradition has always argued St Paul’s body is located under the main altar in the 4th-century basilica.

Speaking at a service that marked the closure of the Pauline Year, held to celebrate the 2,000 years since the birth of St Paul, the Pope said: “We are gathered here at the tomb of the apostle whose sarcophagus, which lies under the papal altar, was recently subjected to an intensive, scientific analysis.

“A small hole was drilled in the side of the tomb, which has been unopened for centuries, allowing the introduction of an automatic probe, which found traces of a rich purple linen, laminated with gold, as well as a blue fabric of linen threads. Red incense grains and substances containing proteins and limestone were also discovered.” He said tests on the bone fragments indicated they belonged to someone who had lived between the first and second centuries AD: “All this fills our soul with deep emotion.”

Saints Paul and Peter have always been considered the evangelists who did the most to spread faith Christ’s death. Paul is thought to have been beheaded around AD 60 at the height of the persecution of early Christians. Popular belief holds that fragments of his skull are stored in St John Lateran, another Rome basilica.

The pope’s “news” represented the second major discovery relative to St Paul announced by the Vatican last weekend. On Saturday, L’Osservatore Romano reported the discovery of a fresco in another tomb depicting St Paul. The Vatican claims this fresco, dating from the 4th century and discovered during excavations of the tomb of St Tecla, is the oldest known icon of the apostle.

Vatican archaeologists have been working on St Paul’s tomb since 2002. The discoveries were made more than a year ago but the archaeologists were sworn to silence so the pope might make the announcement to coincide with the end of the Pauline Year.

 

[thistle]

Pope Benedict announced today that fragments of bone from the first or second century had been found in a tomb in the Basilica of St Paul in Rome.

“This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition that these are the mortal remains on the Apostle Paul,” the pontiff said at St Paul’s-Outside-the-Walls, on the eve of the Feasts of St Peter and St Paul celebrated tomorrow.

Peter and Paul are revered by Christians as the greatest early missionaries. Converting on the road to Damascus following a blinding vision of Jesus, Paul took the Gospel to pagan Greeks and Romans and met his martyrdom in Rome in about AD 65.

Christian tradition had it that St Paul was buried together with St Peter in a catacomb on the Via Appia, before being moved to the basilica erected in his honour. For centuries it was believed that his remains were buried beneath the altar.

But it was not until a stone sarcophagus was discovered there in 2006 that Vatican archeologists could apply scientific research to the religious tradition.

The first results come during the “Pauline Year”, when the Roman Catholic church has been celebrating the second millennium of the birth of the “Apostle of the Gentiles”.

Pope Benedict gave details of the discovery, saying a tiny hole had been drilled in the sarcophaguus to permit inspection of the interior, revealing “traces of a precious linen cloth, purple in colour, laminated with pure gold, and a blue coloured textile with filaments of linen”.

“It also revealed the presence of grains of red incense and traces of protein and limestone. There were also tiny fragments of bone, which, when subjected to Carbon 14 tests by experts, turned out to belong to someone who lived in the first or second century,” said the Pope.

The discovery of the bone fragments coincided with news that Vatican archaeologists had discovered what they believe is the oldest image in existence of St Paul, dating from the late 4th century, on the walls of catacomb beneath Rome.

Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano , revealing the find today, published a picture of a frescoed image of the face of a man with a pointed black beard on a red background, inside a bright yellow halo. The high forehead is furrowed.

Experts of the Ponitifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology made the discovery on June 19 in the Catacomb of Santa Tecla in Rome and described it as the “oldest icon in history dedicated to the cult of the Apostle”, according to the Vatican newspaper.

Early Christians in Rome buried their dead in catacombs dug into the soft rock under the city and decorated the underground walls with devotional images, often in the Pompeian style.

How did they test the bones by carbon dating if there was only a tiny hole drilled in the sarcophagus?
Why didn’t they check the skull to see if it had been beheaded?
Why didn’t they check if all the bones were there or not as another church in Rome claims to have some of the bones of St Paul.

If the Church is allowing an inspection to try to get confirmation that the bones are those of St Paul you would think it would be done more thoroughly than appears to be the case!