Sarcophagus discovered in Rome is confirmed as that of Saint Paul
For the first time in more than 1,600 years, pilgrims now can view the sarcophagus -- more precisely, one side of it -- through a grill-window under the high altar in Rome's second-largest basilica.  
by UCA News   
 

ROME, Dec. 12, 2006 (www.speroforum.com)    -  Vatican archeologists have confirmed that a white marble sarcophagus beneath the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome is the tomb of the "Apostle to the Gentiles," who was beheaded during the persecution under Emperor Nero between 62 and 67 A.D.

For the first time in more than 1,600 years, pilgrims now can view the sarcophagus -- more precisely, one side of it -- through a grill-window under the high altar in Rome's second-largest basilica.

The question that remains is whether Saint Paul's mortal remains are in it. That still has to be verified, Italian Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Monetezemolo, basilica first archpriest, told a Vatican press conference on Dec. 11.

The decision of whether to open the sarcophagus and verify its contents rests with Pope Benedict XVI, the cardinal added.

Nonetheless, he said "incontrovertible evidence" dating back to the second century points to the place where the sarcophagus was found as the place where Saint Paul was buried after his martyrdom on Via Ostiense (Ostian Way) on Rome's outskirts.

Excavations at the basilica that started in 2002 and concluded on Sept. 22 uncovered the sarcophagus and showed it unopened over the centuries, according to Cardinal Lanza de Monetezemolo. It is 2.25 meters long, 1.25 meters wide and 0.97 meter tall, he said, and protected by a white marble slab 45 centimeters above the sarcophagus that is inscribed Paulo Apostolo Mart(yri), which in Latin means: "to Paul, Apostle and Martyr."

Giorgio Filippi, the Vatican Museum's archeologist, reported three holes in the sarcophagus lid, through which pilgrims and devotees inserted cloth to touch the apostle's remains, the cloth thus becoming a relic.

Responding to a question at the press conference, Cardinal Lanza di Monetezemolo said the sarcophagus underwent unsuccessful x-ray tests. The marble is too thick, he said, and the sarcophagus is surrounded by layered concrete added during the second basilica's construction and during repairs after the basilica burned in 1823.