Saint Peter's Basilica - Saturday, First Week of Lent

Saint Peter's Basilica is the main church of all Catholicism. In this first post about this magnificent church, I want to focus on how and why St. Peter's is such a magnificent place, both in terms of its history and spiritual significance.

St. Peter's is the resting place of Peter, the Apostle of Christ. He visited Rome, preached in Rome, was imprisoned in Rome, and martyred in Rome. St. Peter was the first Pope for he was the individual to whom Jesus entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven and hell. In Matthew chapter 18 he tells the Apostles - and Peter specifically - whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven. In Christian Art he can often be identified by the possession of two sets of keys.

The current building that we see in Vatican City is the second St. Peter's Basilica. The first is referred to as "Old St. Peter's" and was built over the site where Peter was buried. Construction began under Constantine, who ruled in 306-307 at the order of the emperor himself. Since the death of Peter, the location of his burial had been venerated, and it was here that Constantine elected to build his church.

Old St. Peters was built in the typical basilica style; a nave with side aisles, leading to an apse. In front of the church, prior to entry into the main church, was a gathering area, called an atrium, surrounding by a peristyle. This allowed visitors to congregate and prepare themselves for worship in the church. It also created an open area in a crowded city! This is the building that lasted until the Renaissance, when Pope Julius II (Pope, 1503-1513) decided that it was in such bad shape that it was in danger of falling. (I suspect that he also wanted to make a name for himself, by creating a new, grander St. Peters.)

There is, of course, room for skepticism about the veracity of the claim that the remains - if there are any at all - actually belong to Saint Peter himself. First of all, we must acknowledge that there is not a marker - a tombstone, if you will - stating, "Here Lies St. Peter". Of course, you may reasonably consider the entire structure as a tombstone of sorts. But the general sort of tombstone one thinks about is one that is placed at the time of a person's death and burial simply does not exist.

What we do have is decades and centuries of tradition, all tied to this one spot. I must confess, I do get suspicious when so-called relics are "found" after centuries of being lost. This is compounded in cases where the remains are found in a location apart from the place of burial or martyrdom. One can be equally suspicious when relics are purchased. Neither of these events hold true here. The spot where Constantine built St. Peter's can reasonably said to be the spot that had been venerated for years. No other location has claimed to be that of the final resting place of St. Peter. And that holds sway with me.

This question about Peter's burial is what is known as a "hot topic" in the publishing world. If this is of interest to you, I certainly encourage readers of this blog to look into these books. My intention was to provide my overall approach to the question of Peter's burial, and, obviously, not provide any specific details. Take the time to look into those details yourself!

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St. Peter's Basilica, Google Maps

St. Peter's Basilica, Google Street View

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