On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI announced that scientific analysis done on bones found in the on a tomb in the Basilica of St Paul in Rome seem to confirmed the belief that they do indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint. Scientists had performed carbon dating tests on bone fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date from the first or second century.
Pope Benedict XVI stated that "This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition that these are the mortal remains on the Apostle Paul." He made the statements on Sunday, the eve of the Feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul celebrated on Monday.
Archaeologists recently unearthed the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome. These first results come during the "Pauline Year." The Roman Catholic church has been celebrating the second millennium of the birth of the "Apostle of the Gentiles."
Traditionally, it has always been held that St. Paul was buried with St. Peter in a catacomb on the Via Appia, before being moved to a basilica erected in his honor. It was believed for centuries that his remains were buried beneath the altar.
At the same time, the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano announced that archaeologists have uncovered a 1,600-year-old image of St. Paul in a Roman catacomb. This would be the oldest image known of him.
The fresco, which dates back to the 4th Century AD, was discovered during restoration work at the Catacomb of Saint Thekla but was kept secret for ten days, durin which time experts carefully removed centuries of grime from the fresco with a laser.
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