Day 33 − 5th Sunday in Lent - St Peter in the Vatican

Traditionally, this Sunday is known as Passion Sunday, and the week between today and Palm Sunday is known as Passiontide. As we draw near with Our Lord to Calvary on His journey, Passiontide is an opportunity to reflect on those Biblical passages describing the events of the end of Jesus's life, just before his Passion.

(For those who joined the pilgrimage late, this is not the first station for St Peter in the Vatican. You may want to go back and check out Day 11, so you won't miss anything.)

Today we begin the final week of Lent before Holy week. Jesus is coming ever closer to Calvary, and we are traveling with him. Are we ready to face the trials that await us there? One of the lessons that we learn from Peter, who never quite managed to be ready for whatever Jesus had in store for him, is that it is never too late to get ready. Poor Peter! As the leader of the disciples, he was always in the limelight. Peter is mentioned far more in the New Testament than all of the other disciples combined. So with his high profile, we see him in all his bungling glory, making all the mistakes back then that we also would have made if we had been there. But here we are now, in our own day, also headed for Calvary with Our Lord. Daily in these station churches, Our Lord sends us messages, little hints on how to be ready and avoid mistakes. Listening . . . we must be ever listening for the voice of our Beloved . . .

A painting to ponder with Mother Mary - Doubting Thomas by Carl Heinrich Bloch

The Gospel Reading:

On this 5th Sunday of Lent, the Gospel reading is from John 11, the Raising of Lazarus from the Dead. When Jesus was summoned to Bethany by the sisters Mary and Martha, he waited to go for 3 days, and when he did decide to go, the disciples were concerned. There were many in Jerusalem who wanted to see Jesus dead, and Bethany was very close to Jerusalem. One of the highlights of this story for me concerns Thomas.

Remember Thomas? Everyone thinks of him as a doubter. I don't remember him that way. Here is what I remember about Thomas: "Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe; but let us go to him. Thomas said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him (John 11:14-16)" Thomas knew the risk of going to Jerusalem. He was committed to going with Jesus anyway.

And after Jesus was resurrected, this is how I remember Thomas. Thomas was confused — everyone had seen the resurrected Jesus except him. The other apostles kept telling him, "We have seen the Lord!" Finally he had had enough, and with his feelings hurt, he said, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into them, and put my hand in his side, I will never believe!" Shortly afterward Jesus appeared to them, and spoke directly to Thomas, "Put your finger here and examine my hands. Put your hand into my side. Do not be a doubter; be a believer!" And what do the Scriptures say? Does it say that Thomas put his hand in Jesus side or his finger into the nail prints? Apparently not. He was too busy falling to his knees and crying, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20: 25-28)

My Lord and my God . . . . . What I remember about Thomas is that Jesus allowed him the privilege of being the first to voice the amazing revelation, that their good friend, Jesus, the wonderworker, the Crucified One, the One who no one could quite get a bede on, was, (oh my Lord!) was, (can it be?) was GOD ! ! ! ! ! I love in my mind to watch Thomas falling to his knees. I want to fall with him! I don't want Thomas to get the words out faster than I can. My Lord and my God! My Lord and my God! My Lord and my God! I can't stop saying those words . . . . .

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome.

Today, one week before Palm Sunday, is the perfect day to contemplate the martyrdom of St Peter. And what better place than here in the Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican, for it was here, just about 50 years shy of two millenia ago, that Peter gave the ultimate testimony of the Lordship of Christ. We will explore that witness as we plunge 20 centuries into the past beneath the high altar of this great church.

On the night of July 18, AD 64, according to the Roman historian, Tacitus, fire broke out in the shops along the the region of the Circus Maximus adjacent to the Caelian and Palatine hills of Rome. It was a windy night, and the flames spread rapidly along the full length of the Circus. In this lower area of Rome, narrow, twisting streets and closely packed apartment blocks were the perfect kindling for the flames, and there was nothing to impede the conflagration. It spread along the Palatine and Caelian slopes with widespread devastation. For six days fire ravaged Rome, leaving only four of its fourteen districts undamaged, before it was brought under control.

The Fire of Rome by Hubert Robert

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Many Christians at the time believed that the world would end in fire, just at the time of the return of Christ. They rejoiced when they saw the great fire because they thought that it was a sign of the Return of the King. This rejoicing would come back to haunt them.

Many people were suspicious of Nero with regard to the fire. Some actually thought he had commanded that the fire be set, or that, seeing a possible advantage for himself, he had prevented effective means of containing the fire. Certainly, he benefitted more than anyone else. Eventually, the pressure became too great, and he found he needed a scapegoat. The Christians proved to be a logical choice. Entertainment was important in the ancient Roman world, and Nero devised the ultimate in entertainment for the population of Rome. The Christians would be the chief actors on stage — the site: his great Circus outside the city, in the region of the Vatican Hill.

The Circus of Nero

And so, the hunt began — men, women, and sometimes children, Christians all, were rounded up for public torture and death, and all for the entertainment (and distraction) of the masses.

The Torches of Nero by Henryk Siemiradzki

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Christians were tied to tall posts and covered in pitch, to be set on fire and used as torches to light the arena. There were demonstrations of all manner of cruel tortures. Amid the extraordinary spectacle, Peter was crucified upside-down. When the great leader is dead, there will be no more "trouble" from the Christians! How little did pagan Rome understand the prophetic nature of the drama that was being enacted before their eyes.

Ruins of Nero's Circus and the Roman necropolis

The necropolis (cemetery) is in the upper left quadrant of the picture. Notice its relationship to the circus. This is where Peter, and possibly a great number of other martyrs were buried, next to Nero's circus where they died. In the next diagram, you can see the relationship of the necropolis to St Peter's Basilica, both the Old and the New.

Above is a superimposed view of Nero's Circus in the Vatican (green), Old St Peter's (brown), and underneath, the current St Peter's and St Peter's Square. (Have you ever noticed that St Peter's Square has the shape of an old-fashioned keyhole when you see it from above? Appropriate, don't you think, since to Peter were given the Keys of the Kingdom.) If you think about the previous drawing, you will realize that the necropolis you saw there would be in the same position, relative to the circus, as that occupied by the apse, altar and nave of the two superimposed basilicas of St Peter. Also note the position of the obelisk in the spina of the circus. You will need to refer back to this diagram later, so keep it in mind. Now let's go back inside the basilica.

Bernini's Magnificent Baldacchino

"St. Peter's Baldachin by Bernini" by Jorge Royan - File:Basilica di San Pietro, Rome - 2677.jpg (cropped). Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Peter%27s_Baldachin_by_Bernini.jpg#/media/File:St._Peter%27s_Baldachin_by_Bernini.jpg

Standing regally over the high altar of St Peter's is Bernini's baldacchino. Not only does it mark the position of the high altar, but characteristic of the Church since the earliest days, it marks the place of Peter's tomb.

We can see in this diagram above, the position of St Peter's tomb beneath the current high altar, as well as the previous altars that have stood above the grave.

The popes frequently wanted to be buried close to the tomb of St Peter. You can see below, the position of their graves relative to his.

Now let's go back upstairs for a moment again to the high altar.

Underneath the high altar is the Confessio. One descends a curving stairway to the space in the grottoes below.

If you open the gate at the bottom of the picture below, and descend the curving staircase on either side, when you reach the bottom, you will be at the level of the floor of the Old St Peter's basilica, standing where the Popes would have stood before the high altar, in Constantine's era and until the reconstruction of the Basilica in the 1500's, and you will be facing the Niche of the Pallia. Really awesome!

Above: 17th Century map of the papal tombs near St Peter

"Graves near Saint Peter".

Licensed under Public Domain via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Graves_near_Saint_Peter.jpg#/

Confessio of St. Peter’s. (saintpetersbasilica.org)

Notice above that one can descend into the confessio, down the curved stairway on either side. At the bottom, in the far center, is the Niche of the Palia.

In the Confessio of St Peter's Basilica - looking toward the niche of the pallia

"Petrusgrab Petersdom b" by Holger Weinandt at the German language Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Petrusgrab_Petersdom_b.jpg#/media/File:Petrusgrab_Petersdom_b.jpg

In the picture above you are looking at what is known as the niche of the pallia. This is where the pallia (symbol of the archbishop) are kept, close to the bones of St Peter, prior to being given by the pope to new archbishops.

Right: Simplified plan of the lower level of the basilica, in relation to the high altar today (marked by the large rectangle), the Clementine Chapel, the Confessio, and the Grottoes on the lower level. (Walsh)

In the diagram above right, if we stand in the Grottoes, and look toward the Niche of the Pallia, we would be standing where the photographer stood in the picture above.

Now we have to go outside the basilica to enter the next level down. That level is known as the Scavi. You will be descending to the level of the 1st Century necropolis that stood beside the Circus of Nero at the time of the martyrdom of St Peter.

http://stpetersbasilica.info/Info/VaticanMap/Sacristy.jpg

The building above is the sacristy of St Peter's Basilica. The actual basilica is to your right. On the right of the picture toward the bottom you can see 2 gates you can drive through. The one on the right takes us to the Scavi office, and entrance to the Scavi. Lets's go get our tickets!

Right: Stone marking the place where the obelisk stood in Nero's Circus

You can click the link below to get a closer look at the stone.

http://stpetersbasilica.info/Pics/EXT/oldobelisk-loc.jpg

Below: Video about Nero's circus showing its relationship to the Necropolis where St Peter is buried

The Line at the Scavi office and entrance.

It won't be long, and then we'll be on our way down, down, down — 20 centuries!

While we're waiting, take a look at the rather unassuming marker on the ground that marks the spot where the obelisk stood from the time that it witnessed St Peter's death in the Circus of Nero, until it was moved to St Peter's Square in 1586.

http://stpetersbasilica.info/Necropolis/Scavi-map.htm

Now we are heading down, down, into the ancient necropolis. Keep in mind as we walk down the narrow streets between the tombs that these are NOT catacombs. In St Peter's day this was a cemetery like we think of today, open to the sky, but with large mausolea for whole families, sometimes multi-generational.

To the left is a map of the street we will walk down. Don't feel bad if you get turned around, we have to do some twists and turns to get to some of the places we want to see. We start about 2/3's of the way down the map in the pagan area of the necropolis, and work our way to the top, to the Christian areas. As we walk up the street, the walls of Nero's Circus would have been towering up on the left.

The area marked P is where we want to end up. P stands for Peter, and this is his tomb. Now, when you are looking at the map and the pictures, it all makes sense, but when you are actually there, you can get a bit disoriented, and it is hard to keep everything straight in your head, especially as you go up stairs and down, twist around behind things, etc.

Below are some photos of the street we will be traveling.

And here is a video about how St Peter's tomb came to be buried under the St Peter's Basilica.

One of the streets of the Vatican Necropolis beneath St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Can you even believe this? Just imagine all the pilgrims that have walked down these streets to St Peter's tomb. And we are following in their footsteps. Perhaps even tracking some of the same dust. Did you know that back in the early days, there was a slit into the tomb, so you could tie your handkerchief to a line and let it down until it was lying on the top of St Peter's bones. Do-it-yourself relic maker!

Above: Map of the Necropolis to show relationship to the high altar of the basilica.

We have been walking down the street from right to left. Peter's tomb is toward the left where it says 13,14,15. See how the tomb is right under the altar in the diagram of the basilica above?

"Plan of the Necropolis" by digitalisiert von Mogadir - Pietro Zander; Fabbrica di San Pietro (Hrsg.): The Necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.2010, ISBN 978-88-7369-081-8.. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_of_the_Necropolis.jpg#/media/File:Plan_of_the_Necropolis.jpg

In the diagram above, see the grottoes where many of the popes and other important persons are buried? It is the grey level, second to the bottom blue level. The floor of the grottoes used to be the floor of Constantine's Basilica. The deepest, blue level is the Necropolis. Now how did it happen that the necropolis ended up underground?

"Level of the Necropolis" by digitalisiert von Mogadir - Pietro Zander

Fabbrica di San Pietro (Hrsg.): The Necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.2010, ISBN 978-88-7369-081-8.. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Level_of_the_Necropolis.jpg#/

Prior to Constantine's day, the Vatican Hill sloped rather gently down to the Tiber River. In order to build his huge basilica, the ground had to be leveled. By the time enough dirt had been hauled in to level the foundation, the necropolis was subterranean (the pink area represents all the dirt that was hauled in). Now why would Constantine have wanted to cover up St Peter's tomb? You have to get inside the mind of the ancient Christians to answer this. To them, the important thing was 1) to know where the body was, 2) to make sure, as much as possible, that no one would destroy or desecrate the relics, 3) and that the site was accessible for veneration. Actually, a huge, mega-ton basilica just about fits the bill for all three of those requirements. Now today, we would like to be able to see the tomb for ourselves. But it's just a different mindset.

Now I want to help you understand the history of St Peter's tomb. It was not long after St Peter's death before the early Christians venerated the tomb by enhancing it with a Tropaion. On the battlefield, a Tropaion displayed the trophies of a warrior. Here it makes a display of the trophies (relics) of a martyr.

Left: a reconstruction of the Tropaion built over St Peter's grave, before additions. It stood like this until about AD200. The ground below is cut away to show where the actual grave was situated. (Fabbrica di San Pietro)

The 4th century church historian Eusebius records for us that about 260 years before Constantine began work on St Peter's basilica, that Sts Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome during the persecution of Nero (63–67), and confirms that “their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place (Rome) even to the present day.” He cites as testimony, a publication by Gaius, a churchman under Pope Zephyrinus (r. 199–217), who declared the superiority of Rome’s apostolic tombs over the claims of heretics regarding the tombs of their leaders. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History II.25): "But I can show you the trophies of the apostles. For if you will go to the Vatican (Peter) or to the Ostian way (Paul), you will find the trophies (Tropaion) of those who laid the foundations of this church." It was Gaius (early 3rd century) who wrote, identifying the Tropaion over St Peter's tomb, and from his testimony, archaeologists were able to identify the ancient monument they discovered over St. Peter’s grave, preserved inside Constantine’s memoria, as the Tropaion (τρόπαιον, or “trophy”) of Gaius.

Those areas marked 'graveyards' in the diagram below, were where many early bishops of Rome were buried, so as to be close to St Peter.

"Vatican Necropolis Field P" by digitalisiert von Mogadir - Pietro Zander; Fabbrica di San Pietro (Hrsg.): The Necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.2010, ISBN 978-88-7369-081-8.. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vatican_Necropolis_Field_P.jpg#/

The reconstructed layout of the necropolis graveyards in relation to the apse of Constantine’s basilica. See the Tropaion? (Fabbrica di San Pietro). This is the way the Tropaion would have appeared c. 260, with the posterior Red Wall, and after the construction of the supporting Graffiti Wall. (mcsmith.blogs.com). Yes, the ancient Christians left graffiti. We'll see some below.

Maybe color-coding will help. The curved green area below was the apse of Constantine's basilica. You can't see it in the diagram, but around behind Peter's tomb, was a room with what appears to be a moderate sized pit. It is thought that it may have been a paleo-Christian baptismal font. Can you even imagine being baptized next to St. Peter?

When Constantine built the first St Peter's Basilica he venerated St Peter's tomb by breaking everything down around it and then encasing it in a marble shell called the memoria. He left the Tropaion intact, even to leaving the unsightly graffiti wall in place. In the first basilica, the memoria stood on the floor of the church with the altar set up in front of it.

This is the way the front of the tomb would have looked after Constantine’s memoria was built in the 4th century. The clear shelf at the top of the model corresponds to the floor of the modern-day basilica. (mcsmith.blogs.com)

This was the back of Constantine's Mermoria

Pope Gregory the Great (r. 590–604) remodeled the high altar area extensively during his papacy, because he wanted to be able to celebrate Mass on an altar above St. Peter’s tomb. In order for the altar to be at the proper level, on top of the memoria, Gregory raised the floor around the altar, and created an early recessed confessio beneath it, with a crypt behind (which would later become the Clementine Chapel).

Later popes made further changes; Popes Callixtus II (1119–1124) and Clement VIII (1592–1605) each installed new high altars. Gradually Constantine’s memoria and St. Peter’s tomb were lost from view and memory, under layers of altars. Tradition assured the Church that St. Peter’s tomb was here, and that the Prince of Apostles lay beneath the high altar, but nothing more was known for certain.

Scroll back up to look at the diagram showing the levels of the various altars over the years.

Below are some of the prizes of the excavations:

Below: The graffiti wall and the slit-like repository of the bones

Below: The Petros Fragment from the Red Wall, discovered inside the repository.

(Fabbrica di San Pietro)

The actual fragment is hard to read, but this diagram helps us to decipher what was found on the fragment. It says, "Peter is here," in Greek.

The interior of the grave beneath the Tropaion, from north side looking south. On the south wall are the remains of the two retaining walls. The closure slab can be seen overhead. (Fabbrica di San Pietro)

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Right: Example of a Chi-Rho style monograph Guarducci found to represent Peter on the graffiti wall.

Carpals and metacarpals of the left hand believed to be those of St. Peter. (Fabbrica di San Pietro)

Below are videos that take you on virtual tours of the Vatican Necropolis (Scavi). This may help you to get a better idea of the ancient site of the tomb of St Peter.

Here is a YouTube video virtual tour and history:

My dear pilgrims that is all I have for you today. I don't want to wear you out with too much information. After all, one can literally walk through the Vatican and never run out of new places to explore, and can study the fascinating story of the discovery of St Peter's tomb for a very long time without exhausting all the sources. I have included a few extra options at the bottom of the page if your yen to explore has not been satisfied.

Remember, no collect churches for Sunday.

Tomorrow we will meet a new saint and martyr at his station, San Crisogono in Trastevere. He is one of the saints of the Roman Canon of the Mass. We are so fortunate in the Ordinariate 0f the Chair of St. Peter to hear the Roman Canon every Sunday at Mass. I hope this year, at least for Easter, that you will be at a Mass where Eucharistic Prayer I (which is the Roman Canon) will be used. You will find that as you hear the names of the saints read, that you will recognize many of them now from this Station Church Pilgrimage, and you will know them as friends from your cloud of witnesses who have travelled wth us in this pilgrimage!

Optional videos pictures, and tours:

Click for a Virtual Tour

4th Century glass mosaic of St Peter from the catacombs of St Thecla

"MosaicOfSaintPeter" by Unknown - Pontifical Commission For Sacred Archaeology. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MosaicOfSaintPeter.jpg#/

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