Paul the Apostle in Rome

Following archaeological digs and analyses in the Church of Saint Paul outside the Walls in Rome (see picture), the place of the traditional tomb, Pope Benedict XVI announced that bone remains of a man who lived in the first our second century had been found. This "seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that these are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul," the Pope said. 

The pope waited for the feast this year to reveal this to the world, as the formal end of the year of Saint Paul is marked. This year marks 2000 years since the birth of the apostle who bore the name "the apostle to the Gentiles".

Cardinal Kasper, who heads the Vatican Council for Christian unity, arrived in Jerusalem as a delegate of the Pope to mark the formal end of the year of Saint Paul in the Holy Land. He will head a series of ceremonies together with the heads of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. The program of these ceremonies can be read here.