The discovery of Saint Peter's tomb in Rome

Summary:

In the New Testament, the apostle Saint Peter concludes his first Epistle by saying that he is "in Babylon "(1 Pet 5:13), meaning in Rome. Tradition has always affirmed that he died a martyr there, under the reign of Nero, during a fierce persecution unleashed against Christians, as reported, for example, by Tacitus, a contemporary historian of the events, in his Annals.

Numerous other written sources also attest to Peter's martyrdom in Rome, including the First Letter to the Corinthians by St Clement, 4th Bishop of Rome, dated 95 AD, and a letter sent by the priest Gaius to a certain Proclus around 200 AD, in which it is said that the apostles Peter and Paul are both buried in Rome, the former in the Vatican, the latter on the road to Ostia: "I can, of course, point out to you the trophies (monuments dedicated to the martyrs) of the apostles. If you want to go to the Vatican or on the road to Ostia, you'll find the trophies of those who founded the Roman Church."

Origen, Tertullian, Eusebius of Caesarea and the Acts of Peter, an apocryphal text, also speak of this place near Caligula's circus, restored by Nero, 600 metres long, outside Rome, at the foot of the Vatican hill, affirming that Peter was crucified upside down at his own request, as he considered himself unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus. The saint's body was then placed in a tomb resting above the ground, under a small tiled roof, in the pagan necropolis on the Vatican hill, in accordance with the Jewish custom of burying people quickly and nearby.

Between 319 and 333, the construction of St Peter's Basilica under the reign of Emperor Constantine sought to respect the venerable tradition of the site, but did not have any material proof. To build that first basilica,  the former complex was partially torn down and filled with earth to provide a foundation for the building: the necropolis was filled in with almost 40,000 m³ of earth over a length of 90 metres. Above the original tomb, Constantine had a 3-metre-high monument built in marble and porphyry, of which a column and a section of wall can still be seen today.

Starting with Pope Liberus (352-366), many popes have been buried at St. Peter's (148 of the 266 popes). In 1451, Pope Julius II (1503-1513), alleging the fragility of the buildings, decided to demolish part of the basilica and rebuild a majestic one - the one we know today. The papal altar is, of course, preserved above the tomb of Saint Peter.

So the tradition of locating St. Peter's tomb in the Vatican is ancient, but was at times contested. Luther, in particular, in his pamphlet Against the Roman Papacy, an Invention of the Devil, said: "In truth, I dare say, for I have seen and heard it in Rome, no one knows for certain where the bodies of Saint Peter and Saint Paul rest, or even if they are there. The Pope and the Cardinals know perfectly well that this is uncertain."

But when Pius XI died in 1939, indicated in his will his wish to be buried as close as possible to the presumed tomb of Saint Peter. The new Pope, Pius XII, who was keen to respect the last wishes of his predecessor, decided to have the pavement of the grottoes lowered in order to build this tomb. However, when the work was being carried out, the workers discovered an empty space under the pavement where the remains of a funerary building could be seen. This revealed a third level, that of a vast Roman necropolis.

Pius XII secretly decided to launch the excavations, with the financial support of George Strake, an oil magnate and fervent Catholic. The first excavation work ran from 1940 to 1947. Archaeologists uncovered 22 tombs, as well as hundreds of smaller tombs on either side of a narrow alleyway. The most spectacular find, however, was the discovery of Saint Peter's tomb, directly beneath Bernini's high altar, with the remains of a small funerary monument built in the mid-second century, which in all probability was the tomb of the first pope.

The discovery was kept secret until an Italian journalist, Camille Gianfara (someone probably leaked the news), published an account of the excavation in a New YorkTimes front page story headlined "Bones of St. Peter Found", on August 22, 1949. After a while, Pius XII confirmed the news in a radio message at the closing of the jubilee of the Holy Year 1950, on December 24, saying: "The final conclusion of the work and studies is a very clear: the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles has been found." He described a "sepulchre that was originally very modest, but on which the veneration of later centuries has raised, through a marvellous succession of works, the greatest temple of Christianity."

In 1952, the archaeologist and epigraphist Margherita Guarducci made further progress in identifying the remains of Saint Peter by deciphering inscriptions that read "Peter is near", "Petros eni" and "Peter, pray for the holy Christian men buried near your body". A second wave of excavations was then launched between 1953 and 1957, and around a hundred human bones, which had been discovered near these inscriptions and placed in a crate in 1941, were brought out and studied in the laboratory: they were in fact a single individual, male, robust, corresponding to Peter's age and injuries, with fragments of purple and gold.

In 1966, Pope Paul VI asked for a summary of all these elements, and five independent experts confirmed them, so that on June 26, 1968, during an audience, Paul VI was able to declare that "the relics of Saint Peter have also been identified in a way that we can consider convincing ."

On November 24, 2013, nine fragments of the bones attributed to Saint Peter were publicly displayed for the first time. This took place during the closing Mass of the Year of Faith, presided over by Pope Francis. The relics were placed in a bronze reliquary. Other bones remain stored in plexiglass boxes under the aedicula that marks the site of the tomb.

On June 29, 2019, Pope Francis presented nine fragments of Saint Peter's bones to Patriarch Bartholomew, in the hope of fostering unity between Catholics and Orthodox.

The millions of tourists who flock to visit St Peter's Basilica are often unaware that it is possible to visit the archaeological excavations located beneath the immense place of worship.

Beyond reasons to believe:

Christ's promises to Peter are beautiful and powerful: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:17-19). It is exciting to think that the memory of the martyrdom of the "prince of the apostles" has been preserved in the magnificent basilica of Saint Peter all this time!

Going further:

The Tomb of St. Peter: The New Discoveries in the Sacred Grottoes of the Vatican by Margherita Guarducci, Hawthorn Books (January 1, 1960)

More information:

• The Bones of St Peter by John Evangelist Walsh
• The Fisherman's Tomb by John O'Neill
• In April 2017, CNN'S Finding Jesus Faith Fact Forgery show featured the story of St. Peter's bones and tomb in its 5th episode from season 2
• Guarducci, Margherita. "The Remains of Peter"