‘Upon this rock, I will build my Church’ symbolic and literal with St. Peter
August 14, 2018
Beneath St. Peter’s Square and Basilica are a series of tunnels and catacombs where Houstonian George Strake helped fund the excavation and discovery of the tomb of St. Peter. Photo by Caleb Miller.
HOUSTON — Two Houston men shared a journey through centuries of history and a decades-long archaeological dig under the Vatican to unveil a story reminiscent of adventurer archeologist Indiana Jones complete with German Nazis in Rome.
For legendary Houston wildcatting oilman George Strake and New York Times best-selling author John O’Neill, the buried treasure found was based on Matthew 16:18 when Jesus said, “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.”
O’Neill’s recently released new book “The Fisherman’s Tomb – The True Story of the Vatican’s Secret Search” highlights the involvement of the wealthy Strake clandestinely funding the excavation to find the long-lost bones of St. Peter, traditionally known as the first Pope.
The devout Catholic millionaire Strake, never one to request buildings or other monuments to be named after him, agreed to Pope Pius XII’s request in 1940 to help fund the search for the saint’s remains. The Holy Father and then-papal secretary Giovanni Montini (later Pope Paul VI) had dispatched a 30-year-old American priest Father Walter Carroll, originally from Pittsburgh, to travel to Houston to request Strake finance the “Apostle Project,” the name for the secret excavation efforts.
Considering this was the era when Nazis marched Allied prisoners around the Colosseum in Rome while arresting priests and Jews in Italy, one can understand the need for secrecy.
“Father Carroll was truly the unsung hero of this true tale. Not only was he the liaison between Strake and the Vatican, he was also among those hiding many of the Jews trying to escape the Nazis. He was among the first to bring medical supplies and food to the concentration camps once they were liberated,” O’Neill said.
Because ancient persecutions of Christians still echo in modern times throughout the Middle East and other parts of the world with more Christians being martyred now than in the first century, O’Neill said he is donating proceeds from his book to Catholic Relief Services to help those persecuted regardless of faith.
He and fellow book researcher Sarah Wynne are beginning work on a movie screenplay based on the secret excavation that began in 1939 when a workman helping to dig a grave and chapel for deceased Pope Pius XI fell through the floor that gave way.
“We want the opening scene to be the workman falling through the floor and finding himself surrounded by statues and colorful artwork around tombs of mostly Roman pagans,” Wynne said.
The search works through multiple twists and turns and character personality clashes, finally succeeding in finding relics in 1942. Bones were pulled from a marble-lined niche wall of buried ancient graffiti inscribed with codes of “T” for the crucifixion, “R” for resurrection and the inscription “Peter is here.” The area that had been an open-air cemetery in ancient times was buried below multiple stratas beneath the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica. Inexplicably, the search continued and the bones were placed in storage and not examined by a medical anthropologist until 1962.
What was found confirmed oral history, that the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down, executed by the Roman Emperor Nero in 66 A.D. at the foot of Vatican Hill, which was then used as a dumping ground for corpses during that cruel time centuries before any church was built there.
Then Emperor Constantine, who legalized Christianity, built the first St. Peter’s Basilica circa 326 on Vatican Hill which was completed in 360. It lasted more than 1,000 years before being rebuilt into what is now St. Peter’s Basilica, with construction beginning in 1506 and completed in 1626.
The medical examination of the bones determined the remains to be those of a 60- to 70-year-old robust male, about the reported age of Peter when he died. The remains were also compatible with a person crucified upside down since the feet had been cut off, which Romans were known to do because the amputations were easier that removing nails.
O’Neill said he became interested in writing this book after a tour of the Vatican in 1995 and then a later Scavi Tour, an underground visit to the excavation site and tombs where both Roman and Christian remains were found. The tour is booked many months in advance and only about 250 people daily are allowed in the underground below the Vatican.
“I confirmed with Mr. Strake’s son, George Strake Jr., that St. Peter’s bones were found with the help of his father’s generosity and support,” O’Neill said.
Pope Francis showed the bone fragments reputed to be of St. Peter for the first time publicly in 2013. Hugging the bronze box to his chest, Pope Francis opened it to reveal eight bone fragments and blessed them, wafting incense over the remains during an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
“It was a fitting end that our first Pope was reintroduced to the public by our most recent pope,” O’Neill said.