Italy: St Paul's Outside the Walls, Rome

November 2016

One of the Seven Pilgrimage Churches of Rome, the Basilica of San Paolo Extramura holds the remains of St Paul. As it is a major religious site, I wanted to see it on my week in Rome. The church (massive) was well worth the detour and although popular, it was also not overly crowded with people.

The sacred building ... was constructed outside the walls of Rome to honour the mortal remains of the apostle and martyr St Paul, to preserve his memory and to celebrate his cult. With the Edict of Milan in the year 313, the persecution of Christians ceased and the emperor Constantine had a basilica built over the tomb of the apostle of the gentiles who had been beheaded in the year 67 and buried in the necropolis near the Roman Via Ostiensis. The Constantinian basilica, entered from the east, quickly proved inadequate. It was replaced by the grandiose second basilica (known as “the basilica of the three emperors”) inaugurated by Pope Siricius in the year 390. The new basilica faced towards the river Tiber. Embellished down the centuries it lasted until 1823 when it was largely destroyed by a great fire. On 10 December 1854 Pope Pius IX dedicated the third and current basilica, a monumental building in the neo-classical style rebuilt with the same dimensions as the previous one. The architect responsible was Luigi Poletti. In the complex of St Paul’s visitors will encounter traces of different periods: early-Christian, Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance. It is hoped that the beauty of this sacred edifice dedicated to St Paul may continue today to serve the universal mission of proclaiming salvation in Christ. Of that salvation the apostle himself was an untiring messenger. Between 2 May and 17 November 2006 a delicate archaeological excavation took place in the area under the high altar (“the altar of the confession”). This led to the opening of the place where the sarcophagus rests. Since 2007 it has been possible to go down and pray before the sarcophagus of Paul, now partially visible.

(Wikipedia)

The basilica is another one of the Vatican's extra-territorial holdings in Rome. The church was simply too important to relinquish control over it. Although what visitors see today is more modern than its modest beginnings, it still astounds pilgrims in both grandeur and size. After the St Peter's, it was the most impressive and memorable church I entered in Rome.

Accessibility is also a plus factor - anyone was free to walk down a few steps to view the chains that bound St Paul and a portion of his sarcophagus. I found such easy access amazing considering that the remains of St Peter are not on public view (and they had equal impact on the Christian church). St Paul was martyred in Rome during an anti-Christian purge, beheaded by Nero. His final resting place (outside the walls) soon became a place of veneration.

St Paul is considered an apostle, so I guess I can add him to my list of "apostle final resting places visited". I never thought I would see so many of them in my life.