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 500^th 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.