St Peter’s Basilica isn’t actually that old. The construction of the Basilica that we see today only began in the 16^th century and was completed in the 17^th. Before that, there was Old St Peter’s Basilica, which was constructed in the 4^th century. Going back even further, we would not find a basilica at all but the Circus of Nero. This was, of course, not a circus with clowns, but a place where chariot races were held, and it is where St Peter is believed to have been martyred for his Christian faith. However, it is possible to see part of the area as it was thousands of years ago. I have mentioned elsewhere that Rome is a city that has literally built upon itself, and so if one wants to see Rome as it once was, all they need is to dig. In the hopes of finding the tomb of St Peter, this is precisely what the Vatican did, and so it is possible to visit the excavations underneath St Peter’s Basilica, as I did today.

St Peter was not a Roman citizen, and so did not have the benefit of a dignified execution as, for instance, St Paul did. He was crucified upside down, as you may know, because he didn’t feel worthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. Many criminals that were executed were simply thrown into the Tiber, so an old tradition gives account that St Peter was cut down from the cross, though it was a bit of a rush job, so they cut him down by his feet. Then, in haste, they buried his body in a necropolis that stood behind Nero’s circus. Poor and persecuted as Christians were, they employed creative means to identify his grave, and since then, it has become a common destination for Christian pilgrims even to this day.

It is still possible to visit the Necropolis, which is like a city for dead people. (The word “Necropolis” combines the Greek words for “dead” and “city”.) People would keep their deceased family members in mausoleums that housed their remains. When we visited the excavation of the Necropolis today, which exists beneath the St Peter’s of today, we had a chance to see some of these houses for the dead and walk through some of the old streets that made up this city of the dead. Eventually, St Peter’s grave would receive a makeover, as Christians constructed a Trophy monument to celebrate St Peter’s “victory” over death in martyrdom.

As I said, this was a common destination for Christian pilgrims, and so when Constantine legalised Christianity with the Edict of Milan, he desired to build a basilica on the grounds where Peter was said to be buried. He constructed a marble box around the Trophy monument at St Peter’s grave, and filled in the rest of the Necropolis, thereby forming the ground upon which old St Peter’s Basilica would stand. (It is thanks to the way Constantine went about this that the Necropolis is so well preserved today.) New ground was forged on this site several times throughout history, and this can be seen by touring the excavations under St Peter’s Basilica.

I am fortunate to have been able to visit this site today. I could see the various layers imposed on the original scenery throughout the millennia, and each was done precisely because it was accepted through the tradition of the Church and corroboration with the accounts of earlier Christians that St Peter was buried right here in this very spot. Archaeologists were even able to recover the bones of a first century Middle Eastern man (foot bones missing, of course), though, as we do not possess the verifiable DNA of St Peter, it is impossible to say with scientific certainty that they are his. Nevertheless, if you follow the known facts to their logical conclusion, one would be justified in thinking that this is it. Here, we believe, lies the first among the Apostles: Simon Peter.

When you finally reach the site of Peter’s tomb, you will see the Constantine’s marble box encasing the old Trophy monument at St Peter’s gravesite, but more intriguingly, you will see Greek carvings in a wall used to support this structure that are very simple prayers made to St Peter. From a hole in this wall, one can see what are believed to be some of his remains.

There were several things that struck me when I saw this. First, it was incredible to see the evolution of Rome firsthand once again. The excavation of the 20^th century uncovered millennia of development in the area. This gives way to two more incredible realisations: one, the notion that we are but a few of millions of Christians across the ages that have come here; and two, the handing on of information (i.e., where St Peter is laid to rest) over time. This second realisation brought me to an epiphany: that the Catholic Church, whatever you make of its doctrines, is not only incredibly old, but stems from apostolic tradition.

In one of the earliest of Christians creeds, the Church is said to be “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic”. The idea of apostolic succession is naturally complex since it concerns ancient history, but nevertheless, that providence conspired throughout the ages to maintain the Church’s connection and knowledge of what is certainly location of the tomb of Peter (though the authenticity of the remains can be questioned) goes a long way to showing me just how well this Church in particular is connected to history, which is, after all, the medium through which the personal God has acted and continues to act.

What more can I say, apart from that it was a profoundly moving experience? I would even dare to say that it was more moving than the experience of visiting the Basilica itself. After all, as Catholics, our tradition is not one of renaissance Europe, but of the ancient world.