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From Greek Apostle to Roman Saint

Although Paul was clearly an important figure in the early Christian community during his lifetime, it was in the centuries following his death that his role in the church, especially in the Roman Catholic Church, was solidified.

If Saint Paul died in Rome, it can be assumed that he was also buried there. Yet, the earliest written source for Paul's burial place was written 160 years after his death. The source is Eusebius of Caesarea's
Ecclesiastical History
, which states that the body of Paul was interred just outside of Rome. The lateness of this source does not mean, of course, that there was no truth to it. The fact that no one had written about it earlier may simply speak of an increased interest in Paul's burial place in the third century.

The sixth century
Passion of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
claims that Paul's and Peter's burials in Rome were no easy affairs. Christians from the eastern Roman Empire, that is to say the Greek speaking Christians whom Paul had once proselytized amongst, tried to steal the bodies of the martyred saints.

The plot was discovered, however, and the Christians at Rome buried the two saints temporarily in the Catacombs on the Appian Way. When the danger of ambush was over, they moved the bodies to their permanent location. For Saint Peter, this of course meant the Vatican, but for Paul that meant his shrine, and later Basilica, on the Ostian Way just outside of Rome.

Some time in between the writings of Eusebius and the sixth century Latin passion story, Christianity had been adopted by the Roman emperors and received official status as a fundamentally Roman religion. It followed that the veneration of Saint Paul, a church father who after all was said to be Roman and was thought to be buried in Rome, received imperial sponsorship.

In a sense, Paul and Peter came to replace the Pagan divine fathers of the city, Romulus and Remus. Prudentius, the great 4th century Roman Christian poet, envisioned Paul more like an Aenaeas, the Trojan hero who fled the burning city of Troy and founded the city of Rome – he came from Asia Minor to Rome to found a better Christendom.

Even Paul's early veneration followed the Roman pagan customs, of celebrating the grateful dead with a physical feast at their tombs. The grateful dead were expected to participate in this feast, and archeology shows us that Paul's marble sarcophagus made for Paul in the 4th century had a hole for a feeding tube, so that his remains could be fed.

In the place on the Ostian Way where Paul was venerated, Emperor Theodosius founded in the 4th century a great Basilica, containing several relics of Paul: a bloodstained shroud, his ashes and his bones, as well as a shrine with adapted Roman military laurels and athletic trophies. People traveled from far and wide to see Paul's relics, and to receive miraculous healings from them. The Basilica stood largely intact until 1823, when it was taken down in a fire. The Church of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls replaced it in 1854.

In 2006, Paul's marble sarcophagus was rediscovered by archaeologists underneath the main altar, beneath a slab with the inscription “Paulo apostolo mart,” Latin for “Paul the Apostle, Martyr.” The bone fragments inside were carbon dated and found to derive from the 1st or 2nd century, which Pope Benedict XVI has taken to mean that they are in fact the mortal remains of Saint Paul.

But Paul was never a purely Roman Saint. As early as in the 180s, one hundred years before any mention of his burial in Rome, the
Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs
makes mention of the North African Christians having access to "books and letters of a just man named Paul."

Still today Paul is revered in all Christian denominations, both eastern and western. In the Roman Catholic Church, his conversion is celebrated on January 25 and his martyrdom with Saint Peter is honored on June 29.

Prayers to Saint Paul

Prayer for Priests

G
reat convert and Apostle of the Gentiles,

you became Christlike

and knew only Christ Crucified.

Though extremely learned,

you relied completely on the Wisdom received

from the Spirit

and taught from the abundance of your heart.

Instruct modern [priests and] evangelists

those who preach Christ to others.

Let them realize that their actions

speak louder than any words they may use.

Teach them to use their talents

in conveying their God, given message

but to rely above all on the promptings of the Spirit.

Amen.

Prayer for Priests II

S
t. Paul, great Apostle of the Gentiles,

intercede for us to God

[in favor of our priests].

You are God's special vessel of election.

Through your intercession

we hope to receive from Him this special grace:

(here make your request)

[mentioning the name of the priest you pray for,

his ministry,

his spiritual life,

and his intentions].

God, you have instructed many nations

through the preaching of the Apostle Paul.

Let the power of his intercession with You help us

[and our priest]

who venerate his memory this day.

Amen.

Prayer for Priests III

O
Glorious Saint Paul,

after persecuting the Church

you became by God's grace its most zealous Apostle.

To carry the knowledge of Jesus,

our Divine Savior,

to the uttermost parts of the earth

you joyfully endured prison,

scourgings, stonings, and shipwreck,

as well as all manner of persecutions

culminating in the shedding of the last drop of your blood

for our Lord Jesus Christ.

[May your example inspire priests today

to be zealous in their service to God's people.]

Obtain for our priests

the grace to labor strenuously

to bring the faith to others

and to accept any trials and tribulations

that may come their way.

Help them to be inspired by your Epistles

and to partake of your indomitable love for Jesus,

so that after they have finished their course

they may join you in praising him in heaven for all eternity.

Amen.

Prayer for Patience

O
glorious St. Paul,

who from a persecutor of Christianity,

did become a most ardent apostle of zeal;

and who to make known the Saviour Jesus Christ

to the ends of the world did suffer with joy imprisonment,

scourging, stonings, shipwrecks

and persecutions of every kind,

and in the end did shed your blood to the last drop,

obtain for us the grace to receive,

as favours of the Divine Mercy,

infirmities, tribulations,

and mistfortunes of the present life,

so that the vicissitudes of this our exile

will not render us cold in the service of God,

but will render us always more faithful and fervent.

Amen.

Prayer for Inspiration

O
Glorious Saint Paul, after persecuting the Church you became by God's grace its most zealous Apostle. To carry the knowledge of Jesus, our divine Savior, to the uttermost parts of the earth you joyfully endured prison, scourgings, stonings, and shipwreck, as well as all manner of persecutions culminating in the shedding of the last drop of your blood for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Obtain for us the grace to labor strenuously to being the faith to others and to accept any trials and tribulations that may come our way. Help us to be inspired by your Epistles and to partake of your indomitable love for Jesus, so that after we have finished our course we may join you in praising him in heaven for all eternity. Amen.

Prayer for Action

Great convert and Apostle of the Gentiles, you became Christlike and knew only Christ Crucified. Though extremely learned, you relied completely on the Wisdom received from the Spirit and taught from the abundance of your heart. Instruct modern evangelists - those who preach Christ to others. Let them realize that their actions speak louder than any words they may use. Teach them to use their talents in conveying their God-given message but to rely above all on the promptings of the Spirit. Amen.

Table of Contents

About Wyatt North Publishing

Foreword

Quick Facts

The Life of Saint Paul the Apostle