Each morning when I opened the shutters in my seminary room in Rome, I could look across the road to where generations have told us the great St Paul is buried. According to Church tradition, both St Peter and St Paul met their deaths in Rome, after spending some time there teaching together. Neither of these events is described in the Bible, though that of Peter was foretold by Jesus himself.

Very early records tell us that Peter was crucified upside down. Modern archaeology places this in a Roman stadium next to a road leading west out of Rome. Excavations in 1950 and the following years revealed bones of a man aged about 61 from the first century. Pope Paul VI declared that they would most likely be those of St Peter, and Pope Francis placed the casket containing these nine fragments on display for the first time during a Mass in St Peter’s Square.

Neither the Bible nor other sources say how or when Paul died, but St Ignatius of Antioch, probably around 110, writes that Paul was martyred too. Tradition holds that as a Roman citizen, he was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero around the mid-60s AD at the place known as Tre Fontane (Three Springs), a few miles outside the centre of Rome on the way out to the sea. A Cistercian Abbey, a beautiful spot to find peace in Rome, now occupies the area.

Equally ancient tradition talks of St Paul’s burial on the Via Ostiense, on the way back into the city, a spot now marked by the enormous Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls. In June 2009, Pope Benedict announced excavation results concerning the tomb of Paul there. I used to notice this marble slab, just visible under the altar and inscribed in Latin “Paul apostle martyr”. This has now been found to be one part of a sarcophagus, which was not opened, but was examined by means of a probe. This revealed pieces of incense, purple and blue linen, and small bone fragments, which were radiocarbon dated to the 1st or 2nd century. According to the Vatican, these findings are consistent with the tradition that the tomb is Paul’s.

In the Mass today we hear of Peter’s great profession of faith and his escape from prison, and listen to Paul’s moving look back over his life. They are our two “Apostles and Martyrs” who ran the race – to the end.

Fr Matthew