Vatican Puts 'St Peter's Bones' On Display
The fragments, which have been the subject of debate among archaeologists, are shown in public for the first time at a Mass.
A handful of bone fragments that allegedly belonged to St Peter have been displayed in public by the Vatican for the first time.
The nine pieces of bone, which were once kept in a shoe box, were displayed in a bronze case and placed on the side of the altar during a Mass at St Peter's Square led by Pope Francis.
The pontiff, who prayed before the fragments at the start of the service, later clutched the case in his arms for several minutes.
Experts disagree on whether the fragments, which were found during excavations under St Peter's Basilica in the years after Pope Pius XI's death in 1939, belong to St Peter.
Archaeologists working beneath the building discovered a funerary monument with a casket built in his honour, as well as a Greek engraving which read "Petros eni" or "Peter is here".
However, no pope has ever declared the fragments belong to St Peter.
Pope Paul VI came closest, announcing in 1968 that they were "identified in a way we can consider convincing".
Margherita Guarducci, the late Italian scholar, said the relics were given to one of the basilica workers, who stored them in a shoe box in a cupboard.
They were presented to Pope Paul VI in 1971 but have not been seen in public since.
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Excerpts from the Prophet
JEZEBEL RELIGION - Bro. Branham - MIDDLETOWN OH 61-0319
Oh, when Ahab was on the throne... You say, "He's on the throne." That's right, but Jezebel was the head behind that throne. She was the one that done the leading. Look how she took the very laws of the land and twisted them around, and for her own gain and for greed, and made Ahab do it because she was married to him. And that's the way with our leader today. I don't say he isn't a nice man, but look what's behind him: the harlot, the very thing that we run here, to be America for; the very principles that America's built upon... We, by our own free choosing, elected a thing like that.
Now, you see why my voice is going to be stopped pretty soon, somebody's going to know. Yes. Why? Revelation 2:20, she called herself a prophetess. You just watch the wave of sin happen now. You watch core--go plumb to the core. You watch modernistic; watch ungodly things happen in the churches. "And, finally, there'll come a persecution," the Bible says so, THUS SAITH THE LORD. Certainly there will be.
Now, just a minute, and watch just how this comes out. Now, we find out what they did and the things they did; we see it parallel in here just exactly, sin on every hand. Jezebel come in; she bewitched all the people. And notice, finally she begin to build big shrines to Baalim. Is that right? And the Baalim priests flocked from everywhere to get into that place, and begin to contaminate the land with Baalim worship.
Look how they done; look how they've weeded in. Just the things they done, look where they're at today. Look at Catholicism swallowing up, swallowing up, swallowing up; marrying into it, breaking this, just exactly what Daniel said they'd do: iron and clay wouldn't mix, but mingling their seeds one with another, breaking. Every Protestant girl marries a Catholic boy has to raise the children Catholic. All like that, marrying, intermingling, like that until it's come to a place till the whole United States is all wormed over.
THE MARK OF THE BEAST – Bro. Branham - 13/05/54
85 And Saint Peter never founded the Catholic church. I want one history or one bit of Scripture. Saint Peter was a married man. You said he was a pope. He couldn't have been a pope. Peter was a married man. The Bible said, "His wife's mother laid sick of a--of a fever, and Jesus healed her." And as far as I know, Saint Peter was never in Rome. And there's no history that ever shows he was in Rome. And that's a error.
MY REDEEMER LIVETH – Bro. Branham - 10/04/55
And in Rome the head of the Catholic church, in there they... that great morgue, Saint Peter's, where dead people are buried, they love to say in the Catholic church, that, "We have it, because that we have the body here of Saint Peter, laying here. We have the body of different apostles, and disciples, and great men who died and are... Their bodies are buried here." And they look upon that as if that was some great vindication to their phase of religion, that they have God.
BE NOT AFRAID– Bro. Branham - 09/06/60
Overseas, I don't know how many different people's got sensations, you know, and things they want to do. I believe overseas now, they got nineteen original nails that was in the cross. Everybody wants to wave a nail, "This is it; this is it." Somebody's got a piece of the cross. Here not long ago, a pope stood up and had a piece of wood about like that, waved it out and said, "This is it; this is it."
When I was in Rome, I went down into a church where they take all the monks that die, and bury them there till the meat drops off of them, then take their bones, and make fingers that holds light bulbs and--and all like that, and the bones all around. And the people traveling through there has rubbed them bones till their, some of the skulls is slick. And there was a statue of Saint Peter, so many's kissed his toe and rubbed it till they've had to put two or three feet on that statue. Always touch, rubs.
Oh, goodness, get away from it. God is a Spirit. And they that worship Him must worship Him in the Spirit and in the Truth. "Thy Word is the Truth." The Spirit comes and bears record of the Word. And when It comes, you say, "Oh, it's spooky." Then rub somebody's skull, and then say that looks spooky. See? That's... There you are. See? Go to some holy shrine, or some...
CHRISTIANITY.VERSUS.IDOLATRY_ JEFF.IN V-8 N-2 SUNDAY_ 61-1217
106 And it was said that Peter... or they believe it, that Peter established the Roman church. I want the Scripture. I want the place that you can say that Peter was ever in Rome under any conditions as the Roman church said, "He was there from 41 to 46."
And, at that very same time, Claudius was emperor in Rome, which made all the Jews leave. Read Acts the 18th chapter, and you'll find out that Paul, when he went up into Ephesus, he found Aquila and Priscilla, which was actually Jews, and had been taken out during the time of the persecution. And they were here in Palestine again because Claudius had commanded all Jews to leave, both Christian and orthodox. Aquila and Priscilla established the church in Rome, and they had to leave because of the rising of Claudius, had taken all of the church--or the Christians and all the Jews out of Rome.
And Claudius in his reign excommunicated all Jews from Rome. And that's the very time that the Roman Catholic church said Peter was in Rome. Show me one Scripture where Peter ever was in Rome, or any history that says he was. He wasn't according to the Word of God, and That's what I believe. And how could Peter, a Jew, ever put up with idolatry and stuff that they have, of worshipping idols and things? Where... See? How would he go against his own teaching here? Nonsense. No more than that than the Protestant is too. Wait, we'll get to it after while, by and by, the Lord willing. Notice. Notice now, we find out that the very time that the church says that Peter was in Rome, the history says that Claudius (and the Bible said also) had ordered all Jews out of Rome.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1 23/08/64
Now, but... Then when they made up--or had instead of having a--a idol, they took down--they took down Venus, put up Mary; take down Jupiter, put up Paul or Peter. Right there at--at the Vatican, right there at--at Rome now, right in the Vatican City, a nineteen foot statue of Peter, they claim they've kissed three of them toes or feet off of that statue. See? And everything is a...
All down... Went in a church, Billy and I, one morning there, went down in the basement there where they bury all the monks and things like that, let their bones rot up in this dust--one bone rot from another up there--and then take the bones and make fixtures of light fixtures of bony hands hanging out like this, and skulls; and them people come in there has rubbed them skulls white, trying to get blessings off of those dead men's skulls. It's a form of spiritualism. See?