VATICAN CITY (CNS): After years of archaeological work, Vatican officials announced they have identified the tomb of St Paul beneath the Rome basilica dedicated to the apostle.
Authorities said on December 11 that a roughly cut marble sarcophagus was found beneath a historic inscription that reads: “Paul Apostle Martyr”.
The tomb lies several feet below the main altar of the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls.
If Pope Benedict XVI gives permission, the experts may attempt to open the sarcophagus and find out whether the saint’s relics are inside.
“We can be certain that this is the tomb of St Paul,” Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, who is archpriest of the basilica, told a Vatican press conference.
Giorgio Filippi, the Vatican archaeologist who carried out the studies on the tomb area, said positive identification of the tomb was made using historical and scientific methods, independent of the presence of relics.
