Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls Tour Apostolate

Virtual Tour of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls

First time at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls – Sam Hill ’24

I first visited St. Paul’s Outside the Walls on a family vacation in May of 2019. We had just been to the other three major basilicas. It only took a little convincing and we decided to make the out-of-the-way journey to complete our tour. As our cab carried us down the ancient via Ostiense, we began to wonder where we were being taken just as soon as the view opened up to a big public park and the massive façade of Paul’s basilica. In this part of town, we felt like locals, being so far from the lively hubbub of Rome’s ancient city-center. We made our way into the Quatroporticus which features a looming statue of Paul himself wielding a giant sword and Holy Scripture. Behind him, high up, the edifice shined, catching our eyes with its depiction of Christ, the Lamb of God, and the four major prophets of the Old Testament, all of whom Paul knew so well.

We made our way through the massive doors and slowly processed our view of the interior. Unlike St. Peter’s basilica in all its baroque glory, St. Paul’s struck me with its relative simplicity and its quiet prayerfulness. It’s cavernous walls, decorated with the very life of Paul, led my attention to the center of the sacred space. Having learned that the original basilica was tragically destroyed by fire, I was mesmerized and glad to experience the beautifully recreated mosaics which gleam above the sanctuary. As I my legs were drawn to the baldacchino at the very heart of the church, I couldn’t help but contemplate on the Saint, the Apostle, buried under it. If it weren’t for Paul, the Christian faith would not have spread to the ends of the earth. At that moment I felt a real sense of gratitude for the man who laid his life on the Cross for all my weaknesses. I thought of Paul, how he was utterly pierced by that message. So much was he convicted that he put his life on the line to get that message to the ends of the earth. I couldn’t help but say “thank you” to the man whose body was laid to rest at that place. I asked myself, would I be Christian, would I know Christ at all if Paul hadn’t sacrificed so much to give me that message?

I left St. Paul’s that day, with grace from the experience, and just a little more eager and more excited to take the journey of Paul. Maybe I wouldn’t be a globetrotter, but maybe I could have a fraction of that wild abandonment to the goodness of Christ—a willing spirit to carry the message of the Cross wherever I go.

The Man Known as St. Paul – Justin Echevarria ’24

Who is this famous figure known to the Christian world as St. Paul (~5/10-64 AD)? Famous for writing the many letters found in the New Testament, Paul originally was known as Saul of Tarsus, which is found in modern-day Turkey. He was a man who was well-educated and full of zeal for the Jewish faith, studying under a well-known teacher of the law known as Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). A zealous persecutor of the early Church at first, St. Paul came to know Christ in his famous conversion on the way to Damascus, recounted in Acts of the Apostles, found after the gospels in the New Testament.

He came from a family of Hebrews and descended from the Jews of the diaspora, following the period of the Babylonian exile: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia” (Acts 22:3). Paul was a man of three cultures: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Why are these three cultures so significant? He, as a Jew, knew Hebrew and was Hebrew by birth and religion. He, as part of the diaspora, would have prayed in Greek, spoken Greek, and would write in Greek. He is of the Latin culture by being a Roman citizen, a position full of legal privileges and implications. It is safe to say that St. Paul was an incredibly cosmopolitan figure, at least according to 20th century biblical scholar A. Deissmann.

St. Paul was a great missionary to the people of the Roman Empire. Before his martyrdom under the Roman Emperor Nero, Paul engaged in three missionary journeys between the years 46-58 AD. Some of the places he evangelized during this time included: Corinth, Macedonia, Galatia in Asia Minor, Colossus, Thessalonica, etc. St. Paul would intentionally write to, and visit, major cities as they were opportunities to evangelize. Writing to the Church in Rome, which was not originally founded by him, was crucial as this was a community living in the heart of an empire known in Latin as the “Caput Mundi.”

The spread of Christianity is thanks to the significant contribution of the figure of St. Paul. Evidence of his work can be found today in looking at the last few men who have been chosen to sit on the Chair of St. Peter: John Paul I from Italy, John Paul II from Poland, Benedict XVI from Germany, and currently Pope Francis from Argentina. His mission was to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the whole world. The definition of the gospel can be found in the thesis of his letter to the Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live’” (Romans 1:16-17). St. Paul, Apostle and Missionary, pray for us!

What does Saint Paul’s Mean to you? – Troy Niemerg ’24

When I first visited the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, these words of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew immediately came to mind: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). This great commission from the Lord applies to all of us, but St. Paul lived it out in an extraordinary fashion. Indeed, in the long history of the Church one would be hard pressed to think of a Christian more filled with evangelical zeal than him. The basilica dedicated in his honor reflects this missionary spirit in all who visit it. To me, instilling the same dedication and fervor for Christ is what the basilica is all about. From the soaring, mosaic domes to the vast central nave, the magnanimity and immense space of St. Paul Outside the Walls truly ingrains the sense of permanent, Christian truth which Paul preached. Through its ethereal beauty the basilica invites pilgrims in, teaches them about Paul’s life and preaching, and sends them back out into the world filled with the conviction to proclaim the gospel of Christ. In this way we are all called to imitate the Apostle to the Gentiles. The seriousness of the Christian calling to constantly preach Christ took on a new urgency for me when I first visited the basilica. While praying in front of Paul’s bones, which are buried under the high altar, a deeper appreciation for evangelization was awakened. In that moment of veneration, Paul’s words in his first letter to the Corinthians struck me profoundly: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it” (1 Cor 9:16). How true these words also ring for us two thousand years later! In today’s world, there are so many who do not have a relationship with our risen Lord. The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls does not exist solely as a beautiful monument to remember one of the apostles. It was constructed so that we may become disciples of Jesus after the example of Paul, and bring all into the knowledge and love of God. This is what the basilica means to me. I pray that visiting pilgrims will walk away from their experience here inspired and renewed for the task of evangelization. May St. Paul hear our prayers and aid us in this noble mission.

The Relationship between the Pontifical North American College and Saint Pauls – Viktor Gjergji ’24

The Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls has a special place in the history of the Church in Rome. The Basilica was first built on the Via Ostiensis in 324 by Constantine the Great, and while it was destroyed and restored over the centuries, it still remains there, attracting countless numbers of pilgrims each year. The Pontifical North American College, on the other hand, is relatively young by comparison. It was first opened in 1859 on the Janiculum Hill, over an hour’s walk from St. Paul’s, by Pope Pius IX for the purpose of training American seminarians for the priesthood in the heart of the Church. Though the Basilica and the College may seem far from each other in both history and distance, there exists a special relationship between the two that serves to enrich both.

This relationship is one that has multiple levels. On the first level, the relationship between the Basilica and a seminarian at the College is similar to that of any other Catholic pilgrim. Naturally, pilgrims in Rome make visits to many of the important and historical Churches of Rome, and the chief among these are the four Major Basilicas, of which St. Paul’s has the honor being ranked alongside St. Peter’s Basilica, St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major. St. Paul’s has the distinction of housing the body of St. Paul, one of the most important saints for the both the Church of Rome and the Universal Church. This attracts thousands of pilgrims who come to pray, admire the architecture, and ask St. Paul for his intercession. Seminarians of the college are no different. Many of us make trips out to the Basilica on the weekends to spend time in prayer in the Blessed Sacrament chapel and near the body of St. Paul as any pilgrim would. It is here, however, that I believe the relationship between the Basilica and the College takes on a deeper level.

As seminarians, we are studying to be priests ready to serve the people of God by administering the sacraments and preaching the Gospel. In this endeavor, we find a perfect example and model in the person of St. Paul. After Paul met Christ, he had a conversion and totally changed his life. He dedicated himself to preaching the Gospel, regardless if people hated him for it or how much he suffered for it. His dedication to this mission eventually led to his arrest and martyrdom. This sort of zeal and love for Christ and His Gospel is exactly what we as future priests need to serve the Church. Though our circumstances may be different, we are each called to preach the Gospel and give our lives to Christ and His Church. As we are being formed to fulfill this mission, it is edifying and inspiring to pray with St. Paul in the Basilica, asking him for his intercession as we grow in our vocations.

Finally, the relationship has taken on an even deeper relationship in recent years, as seminarians from the College have been giving tours of the Basilica to visitors and pilgrims. This has been a great opportunity to talk about the visual theology of the Basilica, the life of St. Paul, and our own experience of the Basilica to all kinds of people. It is a unique way of evangelizing, and one that brings very memorable encounters.

In short, the Basilica plays an important role in the formation of seminarians and this is what defines its relationship with the College. As the College continues to form priests to serve in America, there is no doubt that these priests’ experience of St. Paul’s Basilica will serve to edify their ministry for years to come.