Omaha daily bee., 1909-06-27

early times was known as st. Peters
Confession and was regarded as the very
heart of the church.
II is stated in the 'Liber Pontificalis"
Chronicle Of the Popes) that the EN-
peror Constantine after his conversion
caused, about the year S22. the body Of
the Apostle to be exhumed in the pres
ence Of Pope Sylvester and placed in a
case of silver enclosed within a sar-
cophagus of brass. over this he placed
a large cross of pure gold Weighing $50
pounds and an inscription recording his
name and that of his mother, Helena
Augusta.
The body was then restored to the origi-
nal tomb, over which he erected an altar
and a vaulted chamber faced inside with
plates of gold. He further decorated
the tomb with candellabra, silver lamps
and plates of gold and silver studded with
Jewels. The erection of the great BASIL
lea. commonly known now as Old st.
Peters, was begun by the emperor and
two years later 1t was consecrated by ST.
Sylvester.
The great crisis in the history Of ST.
Peters tomb was during the invasion by
the Saracens in the year SAT. They car
ried off all the ornaments and treasures
together with the actual altar raised above
the tomb, but the body of the apostle
does not seem to have been interfered
with.
Relics PrOfaned by Soldiers.
In 1927 the imperial troops under the
Constable of Bourbon sacked Rome and
pillaged the basilica of st. Peter. A letter
written by Teodoricus Wafer jun II, 1927,
says: THE urn or tomb. In which the
bones of the holy Peter and Paul were
laid, they (the imperial troops) broke and
profaned the very relics" The testimony
Of this letter is unsupported; hence the
old historians and archaeologists refused
to accept it.
1t is known on the evidence OF a GER
tain priest, named Torrigo, that in 1894,
when the old basilica was being demol-
ished and the present one built, the archi-
tect Della Porta opened a hole In the pave
ment OF the confession, through which the
tomb of ST. Peter became visible. Pope
Clement VIII is said to have seen, by
torchlight, the urn in which the apostles
body was placed by Constantine, and on 1t
the gold cross.
This would constitute positive proof that
the tomb was still intact. were II not that
the conduct OF Clement WI by some is
considered suspicious. He ordered the hole
to be closed at once, and he made Della
Porta fill the opening with rubbish and
caused the whole matter to be kept secret.
Is II not likely, say those who doubt that
the tomb is still intact, that Clement VIII
saw that the urn was empty and, horri-
fled at the sight, had the hole closed and
the matter hushed up7
In 1892 Father Grlsar, with the pope's
permission. Investigated the tomb. He
ascertained that the hole opened by Della
Porta was a passage known as the Cat
aract, communicating between the floor
Of the confession in the church and the
tomb below, through which II was the
custom in the middle ages for pilgrims
TO lower handkerchiefs and other objects
and cause them 10 touch the body Of st.
Peter. Father Grisar measured the Cat
aract and found 1t partly filled with rub
Dish; consequently he could not explore
the tomb, but he is convinced that II is
still intact. The same opening invesu-
gated by Father Grisar was partially s1-
plored on three previous occasions. in 1919.
1873 and lS45, but always with imperfect
results.