Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

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Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and **San Paolo Fuori le Mura**^a
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	Italy and Holy See
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv, vi
Identification	#91
Region^b	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	1980 4th Session
Extension/s	1990
a Name as officially inscribed on the WH List b As classified officially by UNESCO

Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura — known in English as the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls or St Paul-without-the-Walls — is one of five churches considered to be the great ancient basilicas of Rome. The Roman Catholic Church counts among them St. John Lateran, St. Lawrence outside the Walls, St. Mary Major, and St. Peter's. Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, named in 2005, is the current archpriest of this basilica.

1 History
2 Reconstruction
3 Excavation of the tomb of St. Paul
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

In 386, Emperor Theodosius I began the erection of a much larger and more beautiful basilica, but the work including the mosaics was not completed till the pontificate of Leo I. The Christian poet Prudentius describes the splendours of the monument in a few, expressive lines. As it was dedicated also to Saints Taurinus and Herculanus, martyrs of Ostia in the 5th century, it was called the basilica trium Dominorum 'basilica of three lords'.

Of the ancient basilica there remain only the interior portion of the apse with the triumphal arch and the mosaics of the latter; the mosaics of the apse and the tabernacle of the confession of Arnolfo di Cambio belong to the 13th century. In the old basilica each pope had his portrait in a frieze extending above the columns separating the four aisles and naves.

In 937, when Saint Odo of Cluny came to Rome, Alberic II of Spoleto, Patrician of Rome, entrusted the monastery and basilica to his congregation and Odo placed Balduino of Monte Cassino in charge. Pope Gregory VII was abbot of the monastery and in his time Pantaleone of Amalfi presented the bronze doors of the basilica maior, which were executed by Constantinopolitan artists. Pope Martin V entrusted it to the monks of the Congregation of Monte Cassino. It was then made an abbey nullius. The jurisdiction of the abbot extended over the districts of Civitella San Paolo, Leprignano and Nazzano, all of which formed parishes; the parish of San Paolo in Rome, however, is under the jurisdiction of the cardinal vicar.

Cloister of the monastery of San Paolo fuori le mura

The graceful cloister of the monastery was erected between 1220 and 1241. The sacristy contains a fine statue of Pope Boniface IX. In the time of Gregory the Great there were two monasteries near the basilica: St. Aristus's for men and St. Stefano's for women. Services were carried out by a special body of clerics instituted by Pope Simplicius. In the course of time the monasteries and the clergy of the basilica declined; Pope Saint Gregory II restored the former and entrusted the monks with the care of the basilica.

The popes continued their generosity toward the monastery; the basilica was again injured during the Saracen invasions in the 9th century. In consequence of this Pope John VIII fortified the basilica, the monastery, and the dwellings of the peasantry, forming the town of Joannispolis, which was still remembered in the 13th century.

From 1215 until 1964 it was the seat of the Latin Patriarch of Alexandria.

The current Superior is Edmund Power, Order of Saint Benedict

[edit] Reconstruction

In 1823 a fire, started through the negligence of a workman who was repairing the lead of the roof, resulted in the destruction of the basilica. Alone of all the churches of Rome, it had preserved its primitive character for 1435 years. The whole world contributed to its restoration. The Viceroy of Egypt sent pillars of alabaster, the Emperor of Russia the precious malachite and lapis lazuli of the tabernacle. The work on the principal facade, looking toward the Tiber, was completed by the Italian Government, which declared the church a national monument. The interior of the walls of the nave are adorned with scenes from the life of Saint Paul in two series of mosaics.

[edit] Excavation of the tomb of St. Paul

This section documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

The basilica founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I was built over what was believed to be the burial place of Saint Paul, where it was said that, after the Apostle's execution, his followers erected a memorial, called a cella memoriae, over his grave. As mentioned above, this Constantinian basilica was replaced in 386 by a much larger building. This was in turn completely destroyed by an 1823 fire, and the modern Saint Paul's outside-the-Walls was then built on the site, elevating the floor.

The chronicle of the Benedictine monastery attached to the basilica mentions, in regard to this rebuilding, the finding of a big marble sarcophagus on top of which were two slabs with the words "Paulo Apostolo Mart(yri)" (To Paul the Apostle and Martyr). However, unlike other sarcophagi found at that time, this was not mentioned in the excavation papers.^[1]

On 6 December 2006, it was announced that Vatican archaeologists had discovered, beneath the altar, a sarcophagus that may perhaps contain the remains of the Apostle.^[2] A press conference was held on 11 December 2006^[3] gave more details of the work of excavation, which lasted from 2002 to 22 September 2006, and which was begun after pilgrims to the basilica during the Jubilee year of 2000 expressed disappointment that the Apostle's tomb could not be visited or touched.^[4] A decision is pending on whether to examine the inside of the sarcophagus to see if it contains human remains. In fact, the sarcophagus has not yet been extracted from its position, so that only one of its two narrow sides is visible.^[5]

A curved line of bricks indicating the outline of the apse of the Constantinian basilica was discovered immediatedly to the west of the sarcophagus, showing that the original basilica had its entrance to the east, like Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The larger 386 basilica that replaced it had the Via Ostiense (the road to Ostia) to the east and so was extended westward, towards the river Tiber, changing the orientation diametrically.