The Vatican has publicly revealed what they purport to be the remaining bones of Saint Peter himself.
Earlier today, Sunday the 24th, the current pope, Pope Francis was seen holding a small display case holding nine pieces of bone of the first pope, Saint Peter. Pope Francis prayed before the artifacts and gave a service on Sunday morning, according to BBC.
Saint Peter was, according to Catholic faith, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, a significant Christian leader and teacher, and the very first Pope.
The bones were originally found in 1939 under St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The Guardian reports that, while the bones have been known about for a long time, there has never been definitive evidence that these relics belonged to Saint Peter. However, in 1968, Pope Paul VI claimed that they had been recognized and identified in a way that he “considered convincing.”
This marks the first time that these bones have been shown in a public manner.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
