Vatican to Display St. Peter's Bones for First Time in History
There is strong evidence, and historical basis, to support experts’ belief that the bones lying in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome are those of the Apostle Peter.
(The Vatican)—Protestants are wont to be wary of many of Roman Catholicism's relics, often for good reason. After all, during the Reformation Martin Luther, immersed in the workings of the Church, exposed the widespread, bogus use of relics used to extract money from parishioners or draw attraction to a particular church.
That said; there is strong evidence, and historical basis, to support experts' belief that the bones lying in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome are those of the Apostle Peter.
After he was martyred for his faith, Peter was buried near the Circus of Nero, not far from where he was crucified. A few years later, Roman Christians erected a small shrine to mark his grave. Three hundred years later, when Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he built a basilica over the shrine. Over the course of 2,000 years, the church was enlarged and embellished into what we know as St. Peter's Basilica today.
Because the origins of the church, and the spot where Peter was buried, was so well documented, nothing was ever done scientifically to authenticate the Apostle's remains. Until the 1940's, that is, when officials excavated the spot and found the skeleton of a man in who was in his 60's when he died, with remnants of purple thread also found with it.
Italian archaeologist Margherita Guarducci has been quoted as saying purple cloth would only have been used in ancient times to wrap the body of someone who was seen as either royal or holy. (Read her conclusions by clicking Here:)
With that in mind; today it was announced that "The Vatican would display for the first time bones believed to be the mortal remains of St. Peter, the leader of Jesus' 12 apostles, to mark the end of the Year of Faith, Nov. 24."
A press release states: "Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, wrote in Monday's editions of L'Osservatore Romano, that the Catholic faithful making a pilgrimage to St. Peter's tomb to mark the end of the Year of Faith will enjoy 'the exposition… of the relics traditionally recognized as those of the apostle who gave his life for the Lord on this spot.'
"Fisichella was referring to the long-held belief that Peter was crucified upside down and died in either A.D. 64 or 67 on the spot now marked by the Clementine Chapel inside the basilica that bears his name.
"The church never officially declared the bones—which were discovered in the 1940s—authentic. But a series of exhaustive tests conducted on the bones between their discovery and 1968 convinced Pope Paul VI they had been 'identified in a way we can hold to be convincing.' Previously, only the box containing the bones was on display.
"Pope Benedict XVI declared the Year of Faith would begin on Oct. 11, 2012, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Benedict said at the time that the Year of Faith was a 'summons to an authentic and renewed conversation to the Lord.'"
