BONES OF SAINT PETER FOUND?

The church of Santa Maria Church in Cappella is located in the neighborhood of Trastevere, Rome, near the Tiber River. 

It was erected and consecrated in 1090 by Pope Urban II.

The church building has been home to many historical and artistic treasures, including ceramics and murals which date to the 4th Century.  Included among these antiquities is a fragment of the cathedra (the Episcopal Chair), which was once a temporary seat of the Papal Consistory – a formal gathering of the College of Cardinals summoned by the Pope.

It is believed that these relics were secreted within the walls of this church by Pope Urban II, whose Papal Office was challenged Clement III, an anti-pope backed by Emperor Henry IV. 

Because its structural integrity is no longer secure, the church has been closed for public worship and veneration since 1982.  For safety reasons, routine maintenance has continued.

Recently, during such routine maintenance, a worker discovered bone fragments in clay pots.

The pots may contain relics belong to St. Peter, three other popes, and four early Church martyrs.  They were discovered under a marble slab behind the altar.

“There were two clay pots which were inscribed with the names of early popes – Peter, Felix, Callixtus and Cornelius,” the worker told Italian television channel Rai Uno.

The existence of these bone fragments has been known for centuries.  However, they had never been found. 

Inside the church of Santa Maria in Cappella, a stone inscription recorded the remains, indicating that the relics where kept alongside a piece of fabric taken from the dress of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The worker notified Deacon Massimiliano Floridi, who handed the remains over to the Vatican. Church officials have not yet commented on the bones' authenticity.

“We're waiting for a detailed study to be undertaken. A DNA comparison between these bones and those kept by the Vatican would shed light on the issue,” the deacon said.

What a tremendous discovery and gift to future generations of the Church if these fragments are found to be the actual relics of Saint Peter and other Papal martyrs of the Early Church.

We shall await, with great anticipation, the findings of the DNA tests.