Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – In his General Audience on February 4, the Holy Father Benedict XVI concluded his series of catecheses on the Apostle Saint Paul, focusing on his death and his legacy. “Ancient Christian tradition testifies unanimously that the death of Paul came as a consequence of martyrdom suffered here in Rome,” the Pope mentioned in his catechesis, highlighting that the writings of the New Testament do not take up this fact. The Acts of the Apostles ends its report indicating the Apostle's condition as a prisoner. The Pope explained that “the first explicit testimony about the end of St. Paul comes to us from the middle of the 90s of the first century, and therefore, something more than 30 years after his death took place. It comes precisely from the letter that the Church of Rome, with its bishop, Clement I, wrote to the Church of Corinth. In that epistolary text, the invitation is made to have the example of the apostles before our eyes” and that is where there is mention of the martyrdom of Peter and immediately following, that of Paul. The Pope then observed that “it is very interesting, in the letter from Clement, the succession of the two names of Peter and Paul...Though no ancient source speaks of a contemporary ministry of theirs in Rome, the successive Christian awareness, on the basis of their common burial in the capital of the empire, will also associate them as founders of the Church of Rome.”
Focusing on the figure of Paul, Benedict XVI mentioned that “His martyrdom comes recounted for the first time in the Acts of Paul, written toward the end of the second century. These report that Nero condemned him to death by beheading, carried out immediately afterward. The date of the death varies according to the ancient sources, which place it between the persecution unleashed by Nero himself after the burning of Rome in July of 64 and the last year of his reign, in 68...Successive traditions would pin down two other elements. One, the most legendary, is that the martyrdom took place on the Acquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina, with a triple bounce of the head, each one of which caused a current of water to spring out, due to which even today the place is called 'Tre Fontane.' The other...is that the burial occurred 'not only outside of the city, in the second mile of the Via Ostiense,' but more precisely 'in the field of Lucina,' who was a Christian matron. There in the fourth century, the emperor Constantine erected a first church, later enormously amplified after the fourth and fifth century by Emperors Valentinianus II, Theodosius and Arcadius. After the fire of 1800, there was erected the current Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.”
Benedict XVI then highlighted the “extraordinary spiritual heritage” left by Paul: already in the book of Acts of the Apostles, there appears a great veneration for the Apostle Paul and his Letters soon enter to form part of the Liturgy; “it is obvious that the fathers of the Church and afterward all the theologian have drawn form the Letters of St. Paul and his spirituality. He has remained during the centuries, until today, as true teacher and apostle to the Gentiles.”
The historical-critical studies of the last 2 centuries have above all focused on how the concept of freedom is central to Pauline thought. “Above all in the last 200 years, the convergences between Catholic and Protestant exegesis also grow, thus bringing about a notable consensus precisely in the point that was at the origin of the greatest historical dissent. Therefore a great hope for the cause of ecumenism, so central for the Second Vatican Council.”
The Pope concluded his catechesis by speaking of the legacy left behind by Saint Paul especially in the various religious movements, “arising in the modern age in the heart of the Catholic Church, that refer back to St. Paul” and explained that “there remains luminous before us the figure of an extremely fruitful and deep apostle and Christian thinker, from whose closeness, every one of us can benefit...To tend toward him, as much to his apostolic example as to his doctrine, would be therefore a stimulus, if not a guarantee, to consolidate the Christian identity of each one of us and for the renewal of the whole Church.”
After greeting the people in various languages, Benedict XVI launched an appeal for Sri Lanka with these words: “The situation in Sri Lanka continues to cause worry. News of a worsening of the conflict and the growing number of innocent victims moves me to offer a pressing appeal to the combatants to respect humanitarian law and people's freedom of movement. May they do everything possible to guarantee assistance for the wounded and security for civilians, and permit their urgent food and medical needs to be satisfied. May Our Lady of Madhu, so venerated by Catholics and also by members of other religions, hasten the day of peace and reconciliation in that dear country.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 5/2/2009)
