Basilica of St. Peter’s celebrates its fifth centenary
(April 21, 2006) : ST. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the Christian world,
began its celebrations for the 500th birthday by holding a press conference
on Thursday to discuss the rich history of the Basilica and to outline plans for the
birthday year. Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, the Archpriest of the basilica, in the
presence of other officials of the Fabric of St. Peter’s, briefly outlined the history
of the basilica. “This was the second church built on the site of St. Peter’s crucifixion
which began on April 18, 1506 by Pope Julius II. The first was built in the fourth
century by the emperor Constantine,” the Cardinal said. The basilica possesses an
extraordinary archive composed of 3,050,000 documents concerning the work carried
out from the beginning to our own times. It is one of the most visited sites in the
world, with between five and 20 thousand people crossing its doors each day, the Cardinal
added. Bishop Vittorio Lanzani the delegate of the Fabric of St. Peter's said that
the Governorate of Vatican City State will issue a series of commemorative stamps
and coins. The Fabric of St. Peter's will also mint two medals for the occasion, one
in silver and the other in two different metals. The Vatican is marking its year-long
celebration of St. Peter's Basilica with a series of events. A major exhibition about
the basilica's history, including the first display of the 2000 year-old tomb-stone
marked as Petros Eni in Greek meaning “Peter is here”, will open in October 3 and
run through March 8, 2007.