Dem Bones, Dem Bones

Benedict said archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, which for some 2,000 years has been believed by the faithful to be the tomb of St. Paul.

Benedict said scientists had conducted carbon dating tests on bone fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date from the first or second century.

"This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul," Benedict said, announcing the findings at a service in the basilica to mark the end of the Vatican's Paoline year, in honor of the apostle.

On Saturday, the Vatican newspaper announced that a round fresco edged in gold featuring the emaciated face of St. Paul had been discovered in excavations of the tombs of St. Tecla in Rome. It was believed to have been dated from the end of the fourth century, making it the oldest known icon of St. Paul, meaning it was an image designed for prayer, not just art, L'Osservatore Romano said.

I find the piece of news about the icon to be most significant, because it shows that the early Church sought the intercession of those who had died. All too often, other Christians attack Catholics for "worshipping" saints becuase we "pray to them." I, literallt, "pray" to the Court whenever I file a pleading and theya re confused as to the difference between prayer to a saint and prayer to God. But the discovery of this icon shows that it was not a "popish" tradition but one practiced in the first few centuries.