Paul's Mission

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (324 AD)

The New Testament does not say when or how Paul died.  The date of Paul's death is believed to have occurred after the Great Fire of Rome in July 64, but before the last year of Nero's reign, in 68.

A legend later developed that his martyrdom occurred at the Aquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina. 

Paul was decapitated, his severed head rebounded three times, giving rise to a source of water each time that it touched the ground, which is how the place earned the name St Paul at the Three Fountains ( "San Paolo alle Tre Fontane" ). 

Paul's body was buried outside the walls of Rome, at the second mile on the Via Ostiensis, on the estate owned by a Christian woman named Lucina. It was here, in the 4th century, that the Emperor Constantine the Great built a first church. Then, between the 4th and 5th centuries it was considerably enlarged by the Emperors Valentinian I, Valentinian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius. The present-day Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( “Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura” ) was built there in 1800.

Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura 

 (Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls)

The Basilica was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I (306-337) over the burial place of St. Paul, where  a memorial was erected, called a cella memoriae. The Basilica was consecrated by Pope Sylvester (314-335) in 324.

In 386, Emperor Theodosius I (379-395) began erecting a much larger and more beautiful basilica with a nave and four aisles with a transept. It was consecrated in 390 by Pope Siricius (384-339). The work, including the mosaics, was not completed until Leo I's pontificate (440–461).

Under Pope St. Gregory the Great (590–604) the Basilica was extensively modified. The pavement was raised to place the altar directly over St. Paul's tomb.

Pope John VIII (872–882) fortified the Basilica, the monastery, and the dwellings of the peasantry, forming the town of Joannispolis which existed until 1348, when an earthquake totally destroyed it.

The cloister of the monastery was erected between 1220 and 1241.

In 1823, a fire destroyed most of the basilica.  Pope Leo XII (1823-1829) ordered for reconstruction. It was re-opened in 1840, and reconsecrated in 1855

The Tomb of St. Paul

Paul's tomb is below a marble tombstone in the Basilica's crypt, at 1.37 m  below the altar. 

The tombstone bears the Latin inscription PAULO APOSTOLO MART ("to Paul the apostle and martyr"). 

The inscribed portion of the tombstone has three holes, two square and one circular.  The circular hole is connected to the tomb by a pipeline, reflecting the Roman custom of pouring perfumes inside the sarcophagus, or to the practice of providing the bones of the dead with libations. The sarcophagus below the tombstone measures 2.55 m  long, 1.25 m wide and 0.97 m high.

Church of the Martyrdom of St. Paul (1601) @ Three Fountains Abbey

The New Testament does not say when or how Paul died.  The date of Paul's death is believed to have occurred after the Great Fire of Rome in July 64 AD, but before the last year of Nero's reign, in 68 AD.

A legend later developed that his martyrdom occurred at the Aquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina.

Paul was decapitated, his severed head rebounded three times, giving rise to a source of water each time that it touched the ground, which is how the place earned the name St Paul at the Three Fountains ( "San Paolo alle Tre Fontane" ).

Paul's body was buried outside the walls of Rome, at the second mile on the Via Ostiensis, on the estate owned by a Christian woman named Lucina. It was here, in the 4^th century, that the Emperor Constantine the Great built a first church. Then, between the 4^th and 5^th centuries it was considerably enlarged by the Emperors Valentinian I, Valentinian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius. The present-day Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( “Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura” ) was built there in 1800.

Tre Fontane Abbey

( Three Fountains Abbey )

The Montasery was founded about 625 AD by the order of Pope Honorius I, and held by Greek monks.

Belonging to the monastery are three separate churches.

The first, the Church of St. Paul of Three Fountains, was raised on the spot where St. Paul was beheaded by order of the Emperor Nero.

The second church, Santa Maria Scala Coeli, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title "Our Lady of Martyrs". In this church is the altar of the scala coeli ("ladder to heaven"), from which the church receives its present name.

Third are the church and monastery dedicated to Saints Vincent and Anastasius, built by Pope Honorius I in 626 AD and given to the Benedictines. They were to care for the two older sanctuaries, as well as their own church.

1.

Arco di Carlo Magno

( Arch of Charlemagne )

The gate at the entrance is called Arco di Carlo Magno, because Charlemagne made substantial donations to the monastery.  The existing arch was constructed in 805 AD.

2.

Chiesa Santa Maria Scala Coeli

( Church Saint Mary of the Stairway to Heaven )

Santa Maria Scala Coeli (Saint Mary of the Stairway to Heaven, church on the site of St Paul the Apostle's prison where he was held before his martydom.

The present church was built in 1581 on the order of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, which was completed in1584.  The architect was Giacomo della Porta.

The interior was completed in 1589 by Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini.

The church has an irregular octagonal plan.   The fabric in in pink brick, with architectural detail in traventine limestone.

3.

Chiesa di San Paolo al Martirio

( Church of the Martyrdom of St. Paul  )

The present church was begun in 1599 on the orders of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, and completed in 1601. The architect was Giacomo della Porta.

On The frieze is an inscription extolling Cardinal Aldobrandini : PETRUS DIAC(ONUS) CAR(DINALIS) ALDOBRANDINUS S(ANCTAE) R(OMANAE) E(CCLESIAE) CAMER(ARIUS) F(ECIT)

Above the doorway is an ornate plaque with curlicues, swags and a putto’s head, which reads : S(ANCTI) PAULI APOSTOLI MARTYRII LOCUS, UBI TRES FONTES MIRABILITER ERUPERUNT, meaning “ the place of the martyrdom of St. Paul the Apostle, where three springs miraculously broke out”.

 4.

Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi

( Saints Vincent and Anastasius at Trevi )

The Church is built by Popo Honorius I in 626 AD,  originally dedicated to St Anastasius the Persian, then added St Vincent of Saragossa.

The present building was built in 1646 to 1650 in the Boroque style under the order of Cardinal Mazarin, to the design of architect martino Longhi the Younger.

The church’s interior features a single nave.  The altar is decorated by the painting Martyrdom of Sants Vincent and Anastasius by Francesco Pascucci.