Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.
Commemoration of Saint Paul.
Apostle.
30 June.
Greater-Double.
Red Vestments.
Saint Paul.
Artist: Bartolomeo Montagna (1450–1523).
Date: 1482.
Current location: Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, Italy.
Source/Photographer: EwEzl9zb0cohpg at Google Cultural Institute
Author: Bartolomeo Montagna (1450–1523).
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint Paul.
Available on YouTube at
"The Tiber, on entering Rome," writes an ancient poet, "salutes the Basilica of Saint Peter and, on leaving it, that of Saint Paul. The Heavenly Door-Keeper has built his Sacred abode at the Gates of The Eternal City, which is an image of Heaven. On the opposite side, the ramparts of the City are protected by Paul's Portico: Rome is between the two."
With Peter, the new Moses, leader of the new Israel, is associated Paul, the new Aaron, more eloquent than the first, chosen in his mother's womb to announce to the Gentiles the riches of the Grace of Christ (Collect, Gradual, Epistle).
Mass: Scio cui.
Commemoration: Saint Peter.
Commemoration: Saint John the Baptist.
Creed: Is said.
Preface: Of The Apostles.
English: Conversion of Saul on the way to Damascus.
Polski: Nawrócenie w drodze do Damaszku.
Artist: Caravaggio (1571–1610).
Date: Circa 1600.
Current location: Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.
(Wikimedia Commons)
unless stated otherwise.
Paul the Apostle, commonly known as Saint Paul, and also known by his Hebrew name, Saul of Tarsus (Hebrew: שאול התרסי), was an Apostle (although not one of The Twelve Apostles) who taught The Gospel of Christ to The First-Century A.D. World.
Paul is generally considered to be one of the most important figures of The Apostolic Age and, from The Mid-30s A.D. to The Mid-50s A.D., he founded several Christian Communities in Asia Minor and Europe. He took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen, to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences.
According to The New Testament Book “Acts of The Apostles” (often simply called “Acts”), Paul persecuted some of the Early Disciples of Jesus, possibly Hellenised Diaspora Jews converted to Christianity, in the area of Jerusalem prior to his conversion [Note 1].
Thirteen of the twenty-seven Books in The New Testament have Traditionally been attributed to Paul. Seven of The Pauline Epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic, with varying degrees of argument about the remainder.
Pauline authorship of The Epistle to The Hebrews is not asserted in The Epistle, itself, and was already doubted in the 2nd- and 3rd-Centuries A.D. [Note 2]. It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th- to the 16th-Centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews, but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars.
Today, Paul's Epistles continue to be vital roots of the Theology, Worship, and Pastoral Life, in the Latin and Protestant Traditions of The West, as well as the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Traditions of The East.
Paul’s influence on Christian Thought and Practice has been characterised as being as “profound, as it is pervasive”, among that of many other Apostles and Missionaries involved in the spread of The Christian Faith.
For “Romaphiles,” pertinent to today’s feast (June 30th, Commemoration of S. Paul), a manageable walk of perhaps a few blocks from the toney Piazza Venezia between the Campidoglio mount and the Forum ruins, it is easy to miss the sign (“Mamertinum”) of the “Mamertine Prison” (possibly named for Mars, the god of war and patron of the nearby Mars Field) in which according to ancient traditions, S. Paul and also S. Peter were said to have spent their last days—in the case of Paul, awaiting for the response to his imperial appeal.
ReplyDeleteWhen Dante Peregrinus visited it during the Edwardian era, there is a fee but it is highly worth it (unless you have any amount of claustrophobia. In which case you should not go in.). I understand now if you pay €28 you can get admittance to the Mamertine, the Forum and several other sites as well). (Romesite.com has very useful practical contemporary info for the visitor.)
It is very dark, chilly, and very damp, and I recall the walls wet with trickling water—And this was during the height of summer, in July. There is a small traditional altar against a wall, where Mass is occasionally held there. But it is quite an experience to be literally in the footsteps of Saint Peter and St. Paul. It also is striking to the pilgrim that the last days of the 2 saints were challenging and very sobering.
It is a relief when you are done and you can go back out into the bright Roman sunlight. -Notes by Dante P
A wonderful addtion to this Article from our Rome Correspondent, Dante P. Many thanks, indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt is very sobering (as Dante P states) to actually stand in the prison where Saint Peter and Saint Paul spent their last few days on Earth.
Delighted that Mass is occasionally held at the Traditional Altar in this Prison. What a Blessing to attend such a Mass.