ST. PETER'S BONES

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25889, 23 August 1949, Page 5

ST. PETER'S BONES

Reported Discovery In Rome EXCAVATIONS IN BASILICA <Rec. 9.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, August 21. “The bones of St. Peter are believed to have been found less than 20 feet below the pavement of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome,” says the Rome correspondent of the “New York Times.” “Veteran archaeologists who directed the excavations have taken an oath of secrecy and are therefore forbidden to confirm or deny the discovery. However, statements made over a period of months by various persons in the Vatican are said to have supplied enough circumstantial evidence that the remains of St. Peter have been recovered in the hypogeum or subterranean cell where tradition said he was buried. The crypt was unearthed two years ago during secret excavations in the Vatican grottoes. “Vatican officials said that the bones were being preserved in an urn closely guarded by Pope Pius himself in his private chapel next to his study. They said that the discovery confirmed traditions and legends reported by historians during the last 1800 years about the life and work of the poor fisher- j man from Galilee who was said to be i the most favoured, trusted, and I authoritative disciple of Christ. “The officials claim that the discovery . disposes conclusively of non-Catholic contentions that Peter never lived, that if he did he was never in Rome, that he was not therefore the founder of the Roman Catholic Church, and that the Bishop of Rome—the Pope—is not his successor. “According to these officials the reason for keeping the discovery secret is that the Pope, before making an announcement which they said would be of tremendous interest for both Roman Catholics and non-Catholics, wants his archaeological experts to gather proofs so incontrovertible that no one will be able to challenge their authenticity.”