Special year dedicated
to St. Paul
Pope Benedict XVI announced a special jubilee year dedicated to St. Paul,
to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the saint's birth.
Special liturgies and events are scheduled, the pope said, in
local churches and in the sanctuaries, religious orders and other
institutions that have a special link to St. Paul. At the Basilica of St.
Paul Outside the Walls in Rome beneath the main altar, Vatican experts
recently unearthed what they say is evidence that a roughly cut marble
sarcophagus was indeed the tomb of St. Paul, who was believed martyred
nearby. Pope Benedict went even further, saying in his sermon the
sarcophagus "according to the common opinion of the experts and unopposed
tradition holds the remains of the apostle Paul."
St. Paul was born in Tarsus, in what is now Turkey, at the start of the
Christian era, sometime between A.D. 7 and 10, according to church
historians. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, he became one of
the church's foremost evangelizers, first among Jews, then among
Gentiles...
The pope also noted that, according to a long-standing
tradition, Sts. Peter and Paul met near the basilica before they were
martyred, and they hugged and blessed each other.
They were very different figures, with different roles in the church, and
there were sometimes tensions between them, the pope said, but together
they helped build the church and showed the world a new way of being
brothers.
Medjugorje Designated
Departures specially priced are for
April 27 May 17 September 28 and October 27.
Refer to Medjugorje Trip Package Special Page for more info.
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