Bones attributed to Pope St Peter found by chance in 1,000-year-old church in Rome?
Bones
attributed to St Peter have been found by chance in a church in Rome
during routine restoration work, 2,000 years after the apostle’s death.
The relics of the saint, who is regarded as the first Pope, were found in clay pots in the 1,000-year-old Church of Santa Maria in Cappella in the district of Trastevere, a medieval warren of cobbled lanes on the banks of the Tiber River.
The bones were discovered when a worker lifted up a large marble slab near the medieval altar of the church, which has been closed to the public for 35 years because of structural problems.
He came across two Roman-era pots with inscriptions on their lids indicating that inside were not only bone fragments from St Peter but also three early popes – Cornelius, Callixtus and Felix – as well as four early Christian martyrs.
The relics of the saint, who is regarded as the first Pope, were found in clay pots in the 1,000-year-old Church of Santa Maria in Cappella in the district of Trastevere, a medieval warren of cobbled lanes on the banks of the Tiber River.
The bones were discovered when a worker lifted up a large marble slab near the medieval altar of the church, which has been closed to the public for 35 years because of structural problems.
He came across two Roman-era pots with inscriptions on their lids indicating that inside were not only bone fragments from St Peter but also three early popes – Cornelius, Callixtus and Felix – as well as four early Christian martyrs.
The
workman immediately notified the deacon of the church, Massimiliano
Floridi. “There were two clay pots which were inscribed with the names
of early popes – Peter, Felix, Callixtus and Cornelius. I’m not an
archaeologist but I understood immediately that they were very old,” he
told Rai Uno, an Italian television channel. “Looking at them, I felt
very emotional.”
It had
been known for centuries that the relics might exist – they are recorded
on a stone inscription in the church, which claimed they were kept
alongside a fragment of a dress worn by the Blessed Virgin. But until
now, the relics had never been found.
The
remains have been handed to the Vatican for further study. Without
proper analysis, it is impossible to say whether they belong to St
Peter. “We’re waiting for a detailed study to be undertaken,” said the
deacon. “A DNA comparison between these bones and those kept by the
Vatican would shed light on the issue.”
A Vatican spokesman said it was too early to comment on the discovery.
A Vatican spokesman said it was too early to comment on the discovery.
It is not
yet known how or why the relics came to be interred in the Church of
Santa Maria in Cappella, which was consecrated in 1090.
One theory is that they were transferred there from the Vatican by Pope Urban II at a time of schism within the Catholic Church.
While Urban was generally recognised as the legitimate pope, he faced a challenge from an anti-pope, Clement III, who had set up a rival power base in Rome, backed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. The church in Trastevere was closely linked to Pope Urban and may have been seen by him as a secure place in which to hide the bones.
One theory is that they were transferred there from the Vatican by Pope Urban II at a time of schism within the Catholic Church.
While Urban was generally recognised as the legitimate pope, he faced a challenge from an anti-pope, Clement III, who had set up a rival power base in Rome, backed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. The church in Trastevere was closely linked to Pope Urban and may have been seen by him as a secure place in which to hide the bones.
Conventional wisdom has it that St Peter was crucified, upside down, in Rome in the first century AD.
His
remains were interred in a tomb on the Vatican Hill, where the Emperor
Constantine later built a church, which in the 16th century was replaced
by the current imposing basilica.
During excavations under St Peter’s Basilica that began after the Second World War, archaeologists discovered a funerary monument with a casket built in honour of Peter and an engraving in Greek that read "Petros eni", or "Peter is here".
During excavations under St Peter’s Basilica that began after the Second World War, archaeologists discovered a funerary monument with a casket built in honour of Peter and an engraving in Greek that read "Petros eni", or "Peter is here".
The
remains were forensically examined in the 1960s, with experts concluding
that they belonged to a man in his early sixties who lived in the first
century AD. That was proof enough for Pope Paul VI, in 1968, to declare
them the bones of St Peter.
During a Mass in 2013, Pope Francis publicly unveiled the bone fragments, reviving the debate over whether they really belong to the first pope. It was the first time the nine pieces of bone, encased in a box inside a bronze display case, had ever been exhibited in public.
Federico Lombardi, the then Vatican spokesman, said there was a “serious possibility” that the bones were from St Peter, “but we don't go beyond that".
During a Mass in 2013, Pope Francis publicly unveiled the bone fragments, reviving the debate over whether they really belong to the first pope. It was the first time the nine pieces of bone, encased in a box inside a bronze display case, had ever been exhibited in public.
Federico Lombardi, the then Vatican spokesman, said there was a “serious possibility” that the bones were from St Peter, “but we don't go beyond that".