St. Peter's Basilica Turns 500

APRIL 18 OF this year marked the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. The date also inaugurated a series of celebrations to highlight this very important recurrence.
'The Basilica of St. Peter is, in fact, not only the home of all Catholics, but of the whole of humanity as well, because the Bishop of Rome is almost universally regarded as the 'moral voice' of mankind,' thus says Monsignor Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City, and President of the Fabric of St. Peter's, the organisation responsible for the upkeep of the Basilica.
Pope Benedict XVI underscored the importance of the event on April 17, Easter Monday, in his introductory comment to the Regina Coeli, 'In the context of Easter, I would also like to share with you today the joy of a very important anniversary:  it is 500 years, precisely on 18 April 1506, since Pope Julius II laid the foundation stone of the new St. Peter's Basilica, the powerful harmony of whose structure the whole world admires.
I would like to remember with gratitude the Supreme Pontiffs who desired this extraordinary edifice over the tomb of the Apostle Peter. I recall with admiration the artists who contributed with their genius to building and decorating it, and I am also grateful to the personnel of the Fabric of St. Peter, who see so well to the maintenance and preservation of such a singular masterpiece of art and faith.'
The Pope's speech highlights an essential aspect of the Basilica: the Tomb of the Apostle Peter - that Apostle who was the 'rock' upon which Christ established His Church. And it is precisely this peculiarity that makes the Basilica of St. Peter the 'mother-church' of Christendom. It is therefore little wonder that the anniversary should be celebrated in such a solemn way.

The First Basilica

The stately Basilica which now greets pilgrims to the Vatican was not, however, the first church to be built on that site. The first edifice built above the tomb of St. Peter was a basilica commissioned by the Emperor Constantine. It was begun in 320 AD, and completed about 35 years later.
It must be remembered that the area around the Vatican was, during Constantine's days, pervaded by swamplands and that the terrain was yielding and unstable; it was certainly not the ideal place to build a massive basilica. Why then did the Emperor insist that his Basilica be built precisely on that location? 'The answer is easily found,' replies Monsignor Comastri. 'The Vatican was the only place for Christendom's mother church precisely because St. Peter's Tomb was there'.
The Basilica is therefore intimately connected with the beginnings of Christianity. Now, when Constantine ordered the construction of the first Basilica, Christianity was coming out into the open for the first time in the wake of the Edict of Milan, a document decreeing tolerance for Christianity proclaimed by Constantine himself in 313.
The Basilica we now admire was, however, only built 500 years ago, but on the foundations of the previous one, which in its turn was built over the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles. The three monuments therefore form a continuity which leads us back to the historical Jesus through Peter, his chief disciple.

Heritage of humanity

Not wishing to miss out on any important details concerning this event, I turned to one of the greatest experts in the world on this subject, Dr. Pietro Zander, chief archaeologist at the Fabric of St. Peter's. 
Pietro Zander is an engaging and energetic man in his early 40s, yet he is already an authority on the artistic and archaeological treasures hidden in the Basilica.  For the last 10 years he has been chief archaeologist at the scientific department of the Fabric of Rome. This department was formerly directed by his father. It was there that I had the privilege of interviewing him.
'This 500 year anniversary is a unique opportunity to bring out into the light a host of documents, works of art, medallions and other memorabilia stacked away in our immense archives, and to make them known to the world,' says Dr. Zander, the enthusiasm clearly discernible in the tone of his words. 'The Basilica of St. Peter is one of humanity's most precious monuments. It was declared a 'heritage of humanity' by UNESCO in 1980.

Just how many documents are piled away in the huge Vatican archives?
You many not believe it, but we have over 3,050,000 documents solely on the construction of the Basilica - a staggering figure. These documents, mostly unpublished, consist of drawings, projects, drafts and letters of the most celebrated artists of the times, including such names as Michaelangelo, Bramante, Sangallo, Raffaello and many other who, during the 100 years or so when the Basilica was built, each had their hand in its construction or embellishment.
However, it is important to emphasise that the spiritual magnet that has made all this possible - the force that has attracted so much genius and spiritual excellence to this place - is the  Tomb of Saint Peter: the Basilica is like a splendid flower blossoming forth out of the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.'

But is St. Peter's Tomb really below the Basilica?
In the past it was merely a matter of speculation and tradition. Now, modern scientific archaeology has confirmed quite conclusively what tradition has maintained all along. For almost two thousand years all we had to get by on was merely oral tradition and the writings of the Fathers. Then, during the 40s of the last century, the first scientific archaeological excavations were carried out. The results revealed that St. Peter's tomb is indeed located below the Basilica.

How did the Apostle Peter come to be buried there?
St. Peter was martyred under Emperor Nero in 64 AD, immediately after the Great Fire of Rome which, according to Tacitus, the famous Roman historian, occurred in July of that same year.
Peter was executed in or near to Nero's Circus - a construction which no longer exists, located a little to the south of the current Basilica. His execution seems to have taken place on October 13, and his body must have been buried soon afterwards in the necropolis located at the feet of the Vatican Hill. This area was used as a cemetery; this is proved by the various pagan and Christian epigraphs inscribed on the marble or stone tombs unearthed during the excavations.
Peter was buried in the bare earth; his grave earmarked by a simple gravestone. This was because the persecutions against the new faith were just then beginning to be unleashed with a ruthlessness and brutality unheard of before. The Christians were therefore forced underground, both in life, during their religious gatherings, and in death. However, every Christian in Rome knew of Peter's tomb. In time it became a place of pilgrimage, where the first communities would gather to pray and worship.

What proof do we have of this?
The oldest written testimony is found in Eusebius of Cesarea's Historia Ecllesiastica. This book mentions a letter found in the Library of Jerusalem penned by a presbyter called Caius, who lived at the time of Pope Zephyrinus (reigned 198-217). The letter is addressed to a certain Proclus in Rome; this man was the local leader of the Montanists, a heretical sect then threatening the unity of the Church. Proclus claimed that his brand of Christianity was the oldest and best. Caius recalls his attention to the first apostles, and adds, 'But I could show you the monuments of the Apostles. In fact, if you follow the Via Regia all the way to the Vatican, or follow the route to Ostia, you will find the monuments dedicated to those who founded our Church'. Now, our excavations have proved this.

What did the excavations actually reveal?
The excavations, commissioned by Pope Pius XII, were begun in 1941 and concluded in 1950. The results simply confirmed what tradition has always claimed.
In 1506, when it was decided to erect a new building, as the old one was too frail and unstable, care was taken to place the main altar right above the altar of the previous Basilica. This was because it was widely believed that Constatine had ordered that the altar be positioned right above the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles. Now, the excavations did indeed find a tomb directly under the main altar. In his Christmas radio address which concluded the 1950 Holy Year, Pope Pius XII was able to proclaim this happy discovery to the whole world, 'Has St. Peter's Tomb really been found? The scientists involved in the excavations have given us this answer: 'Yes, the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles has indeed been found!'

The place was an ancient cemetery. How were the archaeologists able to distinguish Saint Peter's tomb from that of the others?
Archaeology is an exact science, and our research is carried out with the most disciplined scientific precision.
The excavations soon unearthed a vast necropolis under the floor of the Basilica dating back to pre-Christian times. The archaeologists slowly dug their way to the area below the main altar, and it was there that they encountered a very peculiar grave which stood out from the others. The characteristics fitted almost perfectly the description we have of it from historic sources - there was little room for doubt. The other tombs were arranged in a circle and at a certain distance around this one, as though to maintain a respectful distance from it.
The grave was further distinguished from the others by a small aedicule on top of it, consisting of two small marble columns supporting a travertine architrave. This aedicule is strongly reminiscent of the one mentioned in Caius' letter. An examination of the materials revealed that the aedicule dates from the 2nd century. This makes good sense because in that period the persecutions had subsided a little, and Christians could afford the risk of erecting monuments in the open air to honour their holy people. Moreover, the walls around the grave were engraved with various graffiti bearing the names: Jesus, Mary and Peter. One of these graffiti is composed of 7 Greek letters; it is inscribed on a red-coloured wall adjacent to the Tomb, and reads:  Petr eni .
It was customary in those days to leave out some letters from inscriptions. However, Dr. Margherita Guarducci, an internationally acknowledged expert on epigraphy, was able to fill in the gaps, and came up with the sentence Petros enesti , which means: Peter is within.
We must not forget, however, that the greatest proof remains Constantine's stubbornness to build his Basilica on this spot.

Could you be more explicit?
Of all places, this was the least suitable for such a massive building. The Vatican was then on the outskirts of the Eternal City. It was a low-lying area subject to floods from the Tiber river and the rainwater from the hills of the Vatican and the Janiculum. Tacitus refers to the area as 'the infamous places of the Vatican'. Moreover, the clayey ground easily gives way, and is inappropriate for heavy constructions.
Now Constantine, in order to honour the Christian religion, could easily have built his Basilica inside the city. From an architectural point of view, the Vatican made no sense at all. Moreover, the area, a cemetery, was still in use. In those days cemeteries were holy places and protected by stringent laws which not even the powerful could ignore. No-one was allowed to erect buildings over them. The emperor alone, in his capacity as pontifex maximus, that is, as the highest religious authority in the empire, could bypass such restrictions, but only at the risk of becoming very unpopular.

How was Constantine able to appease public opinion?
He simply removed, at his own expense, the graves of the most important personalities to another cemetery, and interred the others. He then flattened the area to prepare it to receive the foundations. These works alone implied and enormous amount of work and money. But Constantine went ahead undeterred. This fact alone proves how much importance he attached to that grave and that location.
Before the actual construction of the Basilica began, Constantine erected an  aedicule above the grave to preserve it for posterity. In the course of the centuries, three altars came to be built above this shrine: first the one belonging to the original Basilica; this altar was eventually replaced by another one in 1123, while the altar we see now was built in 1594.
A cross-section of this part of the Basilica shows clearly how these four monuments lie along the same vertical line. In the spiritual sense, St. Peter's humble grave is the mystical foundation of this stately building.

What did Constantine's Basilica look like?
It must have been a real masterpiece. Ancient documents reveal that it was 119 meters long, 64 meters wide and 30 meters high. The inside was divided into five naves, and contained 88 columns, 52 altars, 11 windows, and a marble and porphyry floor decorated with precious mosaics. It was consecrated in 326 by Pope Sylvester I, with later embellishments added in by subsequent pontiffs.

Why was it demolished in 1506 and replaced by this current one?
After more than  1100 years the edifice had become unstable and unsafe. The whole building was in need of a through renovation, and the idea of building a new Basilica gradually emerged. This occurred under the pontificate of Nicholas V during the Holy Year of 1450, when it became plain that the Basilica was not big enough to contain all the pilgrims. The design of the new building gradually began to take shape, and, finally, on April 18, 1506, Pope Julius II was able to lay the cornerstone, thus launching the Catholic Church into an adventure that lasted well over 100 years. The construction was carried through by 18 pontiffs, and by the greatest artists of the age.