107. As Mary Most Holy desired all Her children at Jerusalem to be witnesses of Her glorious Assumption into Heaven, while Pope Peter was praying in the chapel of the Cenacle at about midnight as Sunday the 15th of August 57 began, She sent an Angel to him to announce that all should assemble at the tomb before dawn that day in order to prepare more especially for the august event of the Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, united in prayer. With the exception of Thomas, at about 3 a.m. there were already gathered before the grotto of the tomb - that is to say outside it - Peter, the other ten Apostles, the men and women disciples, and many faithful from Jerusalem. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «the Apostle Saint Paul was present at the glorious Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary into Heaven in Body and Soul by virtue of the gift of bilocation, being therefore really and truly present in prison and at that admirable event.» That is to say that Paul, without ceasing to be in prison in Caesarea Maritime, suddenly found himself at the tomb, Elias, Henoch and Moses were present as well, though invisibly. At exactly 6 a.m. on Sunday the 15th of August of the year 57, being now day, the accidental Body of Mary Most Holy, ever united to Her Soul and to Her essential Body, awoke from Its Gentle Dormition gloriously transfigured on sharing then and forever more in the beatific joy of Her Divine Soul. Mary’s Person, once upright upon Her funeral couch, miraculously penetrated the rocky roof of the grotto until Her most pure feet rested on the outside top of it, and remained thus for a brief time. Those gathered there could not overcome their astonishment at the sudden apparition of the Divine Mary glorified, to Whom angelic myriads rendered heavenly veneration, chanting Her grandeurs. But before She rose up on high, and there be thus effected the mystery of Her Assumption into Heaven in Body and Soul, Mary Most Holy addressed all present with words of great comfort, promising them that although She had left this earthly life, She would always be with them to guide them as Mother that She is of the Church. Mary then mysteriously embraced Her children gathered there all at the same time, and at that moment made known to each interiorly the secret of Her Gentle Dormition; from then they knew that Mary had not died, which would be confirmed to all afterwards by Pope Peter. The interplanetary Apostles Elias and Henoch placed themselves to the right and to the left, respectively, of the Divine Mary; and also, very close to them, the Apostle Moses, though for the moment the three bishops remained invisible to the rest. After having comforted Her children with Her motherly words, while blessing them the Most Holy Virgin Mary rose up into Heaven by the virtue proper to Her glorious nature, and not by any ministry of the multitude of Angels accompanying Her, who sang: «Mary assumed into Heaven! Who is She that cometh up from the desert like the lily of the valley, like the fragrance of myrrh and frankincense, full of light and majesty?» At that moment the Most Holy Trinity surrounded by the angelic Hosts and all the other Blessed appeared on high in order officially to receive the Queen and Mistress of the Universe into the eternal mansions. All those assembled before the tomb, each in his degree of vision, contemplated in amazement the indescribable reception of the exalted Mistress by the August Trinity. Concerning this event Saint Mary of Jesus of Agreda presents us with the following passage, which we include here according to our interpretation: «Mary Most Holy arrived in Body and Soul at the royal throne of the Most Holy Trinity, and the three Divine Persons received Her there with indissoluble embrace. The Eternal Father said to Her: `Ascend higher than all creatures, My Elect, My Daughter and My Dove.’ The Divine Word made Man said: `My Mother, from Whom I have received My Sacred Body, and Who continued My work with Your perfect imitation, now receive from My hand the reward You have merited.’ The Holy Ghost said: `My most loving Spouse, enter into the eternal joy that accords to Your most faithful love and rejoice without cares, for the winter of suffering is now over and You have come into everlasting possession of Our embraces.’ There Mary Most Holy became rapt amongst the three Divine Persons, and as one immersed in that boundless deep and in the abyss of the Divinity.» We add that immediately after the August Trinity, with that threefold praise, had exalted Mary’s grandeur in the presence of the Angels, the other Blessed and of the faithful gathered at the tomb, the Eternal Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost placed a majestic imperial crown upon the Immaculate Head of the August Mistress, Who was thereby crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth; for though that exalted prerogative had been given to Mary at the creation of Her Divine Soul, it was necessary that Her sublime royalty should be made officially manifest in the sight of all. Immediately after Mary Most Holy had been crowned, the Eternal Father and the Holy Ghost disappeared; and She being at the right of Her Most Divine Son, He presented to all His exalted Mother invested with sovereign royalty, shortly after which They both became concealed from the sight of mortals. It is well to add that Most Holy Joseph was visibly present at the Assumption and Coronation of his Virginal Spouse Mary, and occupied, in the sight of all, the highest place after Her. In the light of the doctrine of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII we teach that at the very instant that Mary Most Holy, accompanied by Her Divine Son, became hidden on high so as to manifest to those present Her official Entry into Heaven, the Prophets Elias and Henoch, hitherto concealed, became visible to the Apostles and the rest gathered at the Tomb of the Virgin and said: «Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to Heaven. This Mary Who in your sight has gone up into Heaven shall so come as you have seen Her go into Heaven.» The Prophet and Lawgiver Moses also became visible to the Apostles and the other faithful of the Church there. The three interplanetary bishops disappeared shortly afterwards. It is well to make clear that the accidental body of Most Holy Joseph, as likewise the other sleeping accidental bodies that were in Heaven since the Ascension of the Lord, awoke at the very instant that Mary Most Holy, from the outside of the top of the grotto, began to rise up into Heaven in Body and Soul. Pope Peter, the other ten Apostles since Thomas was absent - and all the other eyewitnesses of Mary’s Assumption, returned to the Cenacle exultant with joy, even though stricken and tearful at being now without the company of their Divine Mother and Mistress. A little later, Paul disappeared at the cessation of his bilocation. It remains for us to say that the other members of Christ’s Church scattered throughout all lands, in diverse ways shared in the mystery of the Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, to their great comfort and joy.
108. In the afternoon of that same day, the 15th of August 57, after the Most Holy Virgin Mary had been assumed into Heaven the Apostle Thomas returned to the Cenacle. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «when he returned and was informed by Saint Peter, the other apostles and many others, Thomas did not believe in the admirable prodigy, though it is true that this time the Apostle’s doubt was short-lived, for instead of roaming the streets he went to the Tabernacle, where he prayed for three hours, at the end of which his soul was sublimely enlightened. Then, in the presence of all, he publicly asked forgiveness, casting himself at the feet of the Apostle Saint Peter and kissing them filially.» In another of his dogmatic Definitions the Supreme Palmarian Pontiff also adds that «the Apostle Saint Thomas, when he returned to the Cenacle and heard the news of the admirable mystery of the glorious Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary into Heaven in Body and Soul, and not hearing anybody speak of resurrection, set himself to reflecting on that mystery and once more felt disturbed and grieved, for such a mystery was incomprehensible to him without a prior resurrection and a stay of the Most Holy Virgin Mary amongst them, in imitation of Christ before His admirable Ascension into Heaven.» As we interpret from the latter dogma, when the obdurate Thomas had heard from everyone that Mary had been assumed into Heaven after having awoken from Her Gentle Dormition and had not therefore died, he, not having understood the mystery of Mary’s Dormition, did not accept it. The Apostle therefore endeavoured to analyze why, without a prior resurrection and a stay on earth, She had been assumed into Heaven; and he again felt disturbed and grieved. He was later able to abandon that lamentable state by virtue of humble prayer, on the advice of Peter; for as His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII also teaches, «the Apostle Saint Thomas, before the tabernacle, and while his soul received divine enlightenment, understood with perfect clarity that the Most Holy Virgin Mary had not died but had been gently asleep, as also the mystery of Her glorious Assumption into Heaven.» The Supreme Palmarian Pontiff completes this episode by teaching that «the Apostle Saint Thomas, in the Cenacle, after having been forgiven by the Apostle Saint Peter, was favoured with an apparition of the Divine Mary Who addressed him saying: `Thomas, My very dear son, you should analyze less and pray more.’ Following these motherly words the Apostle, on his knees and weeping profusely, said to the Most Holy Virgin Mary these sublime words only: `My Mother and my Lady!’ The Divine Mary then blessed him and gave him a motherly embrace.» We make it clear that the Apostle Thomas sinned most gravely by abandoning the religious life of the community on his own account; and was wanting, besides, in the confidence that ought to be placed in the word of the Pope.
109. It behoves us to speak now of the III Ecumenical Council of Jerusalem, to which we referred briefly in previous pages. To fulfil the express wish of Our Lord Jesus Christ made manifest to the Church through the Divine Mary before Her Assumption into Heaven, in the Cenacle on the 17th of August 57 Pope Peter promulgated the celebration of the Council, which was preceded by nine days of special prayers and sacrifices commencing that day. Forty-eight Council Fathers took part in the discussions and agreements: Pope Peter, the Apostles Paul, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the Less, Judas Thaddaeus, Simon Cananaeus and Matthias. Also taking part, among other bishops, were Agabus, Barnabas, Luke, Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Timothy, Mark, Silas and Nicholas. Regarding the participation of the Apostle of the Gentiles in the Council, His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «the Apostle Saint Paul was present at the III Holy Council of Jerusalem thanks to his release under guard obtained from the Roman authorities by payment of bail by a group of Christians.» As we know, Paul was a prisoner in the Praetorium of Caesarea Maritime under the custody of the Procurator Felix, a person very prone to accept gifts, wherefore it was easy to obtain from him the corresponding permission by way of a surety - which was sent from Jerusalem to be handed over by the Christians. Guarded by some Roman soldiers, Paul made the journey; and in the Cenacle joined the other apostles on the day previously mentioned, where he was kept under watch discretely by the soldiers from outside. The III Jerusalem Council was celebrated in the Cenacle; the sessions began on the 26th of August 57 and concluded on the 19th of September that year. That is, the sessions lasted twenty-five days. The doctrinal and disciplinary matters dealt with and agreed upon at the Council, among others, now follow:
a) Infallibly reaffirmed and declared were the most fundamental aspects of the mystery of the Trinity: Unity of Essence and Trinity of Persons.
b) Infallibly reaffirmed and declared were the most fundamental aspects of the Divine Word made Man: Christ, true God and true Man.
c) Infallibly reaffirmed and declared were the mysteries of Christ’s Death, Resurrection and Ascension.
d) Infallibly declared was the reparatory and redemptive value of the bloody Sacrifice of Calvary and of the unbloody Sacrifice that perpetuates it, namely Holy Mass.
e) Infallibly reaffirmed and declared was Christ’s real and true Presence in the Eucharist; and though the mystery of Mary’s real and true presence in the Eucharist was not then taught infallibly, it was the common belief/feeling of Christians.
f) Infallibly reaffirmed and declared was the doctrine on the Sacraments instituted by Christ, and the rite proper to each was more firmly established.
g) Infallibly reaffirmed and declared were the most fundamental aspects of the Mystical Body of Christ, and the absolute need to be members of the Church in order to be saved.
h) Veneration and worship in honour of the Most Holy Virgin Mary was advocated.
i) Reaffirmed and decreed was the obligation of priestly celibacy. Pain of excommunication was imposed on those priests and religious not observing holy celibacy, instituted and required by Christ and put into practice by the Church,
j) Circumcision, which as a religious rite was already forbidden to Christians and penalized by excommunication, was now
forbidden to be practised for whatever other reason under the same penalty; in other words, Christians come from Judaism or any other member of the faithful incurred excommunication if they practised circumcision, for example, on racial, civil or social grounds. However, surgical operations necessary for reasons of health or of conjugal life did not enter into the concept of circumcision, and were therefore permitted.
k) Christian faithful come from Judaism and Christian faithful in general were forbidden under pain of excommunication: to enter the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem or the synagogues; to take part in Jewish rites or worship; and to make any other manifestation by word or deed contrary to the Christian Faith. By this measure there were now imposed on Christians of Jewish origin the same prohibitions that had been imposed by the II Council of Jerusalem on Christians of Gentile origin, for as we know, at that Council these latter Christians were forbidden, under pain of excommunication, to take part in idolatrous rites and worship, and therefore to enter pagan temples.
l) Abolished was the obligation imposed on Christians of Gentile origin to abstain from eating animal blood and the meat of animals killed without the shedding of blood, as commanded by the Law of Moses.
m) There was declared the complete break between the Church of Christ and the apostate Jewish Church or Synagogue of Satan.
n) Peter, inspired by the Holy Ghost, proposed the writing of the Holy Gospels, in which the mysteries of the Life, Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ might be gathered.
All these doctrinal and disciplinary matters had been recommended to Peter principally by the Most Holy Virgin Mary before Her Assumption into Heaven. The decisions of the III Council of Jerusalem were gathered together in Acts, copies of which were made to be taken to the different dioceses. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «at the III Holy Council of Jerusalem the Holy Apostles Paul and James the Less, humbly casting themselves at the feet of the Apostle Saint Peter, publicly asked forgiveness for all their dissimulations and judaizing acts.» That contrite manifestation of the two Apostles was insisted upon by Pope Peter moments before the Council discussions began, for it was necessary that it should be seen quite clearly that the two of them publicly acknowledged and repudiated their past mistakes. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «at the III Holy Council of Jerusalem Bishop Nicholas, one of the first seven deacons, apostatized once and for all.» Concerning this lamentable episode it is well to clarify that although in his beginnings Nicolas became distinguished for his wisdom and priestly fervour, and was an example of virtue and of submission to the Church, little by little he forsook uprightness of conscience to give way to the things of the world, to the point that he tried to combine the priesthood and religious life with licentiousness, instead of mortifying his passions. His repugnance towards celibacy became so great that he was ever seeking some pretext to be freed from its observance, but to no avail. On several occasions he had to be admonished by his own brothers in the priesthood, since in underhand ways he tried to sway them in support of his aberrations. It was at the III Council of Jerusalem that he openly manifested his wicked intentions by trying to persuade the other council Fathers to abolish holy priestly celibacy. With great patience and tender affection Pope Peter first tried to deter Nicholas from his errors in order to draw him to true doctrine. The Pope’s fatherly attitude and the exhortations of the other Council Fathers were all unavailing, for Nicholas remained obdurate and moreover sought to convince them all that celibacy had neither been instituted nor still less demanded by Christ, since it was contrary to nature owing to man’s natural inclinations, which were impossible to curb outside marriage. Following a lengthy and heated discussion, Pope Peter reaffirmed the Church’s doctrine on celibacy and obliged its observance under pain of excommunication; and in these terms instructed that it should be included as one of the canons of the Council. Peter’s firmness provoked Nicholas’ anger against the Church; and the Pope anathematized and expelled him. As he left the Cenacle, Nicholas drew after him some religious that shared his errors, who followed him into his apostasy. As has already been stated in this Treatise, Nicholas was the founder of the Nicolaites, an infamous sect that fomented heresies and the corruption of no few priests. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII considers Bishop Nicholas the chief father of all heresiarchs. As we know, lamentably, Nicholas was damned.
110. The writing of the Holy Gospels was an arduous and laborious task which many attempted; but only John, Matthew, Mark and Luke received sufficient inspiration from the Most Divine Paraclete in order to conclude their labours successfully. The four Evangelists had to compile the most important details of Chiist’s mysteries, either by recalling what they had seen, or by obtaining details from others who had been witnesses of them, although on quite a number of occasions they remembered or received knowledge, as the case may be, through mystical visions. In all their labour, then, the Evangelists were assisted by the Holy Ghost, the principal Cause, Author and indispensable Mover of the four Gospels, Who inspired each of the sacred writers to compose them in accordance with the divine plan. Even though the four Gospels essentially concur in one and the same doctrine concerning Christ, and complete one another, each of them, nevertheless, has a more particular end in view: Matthew seeks to stress especially that Jesus is the Promised Messias; Mark, that Jesus is the Son of God; Luke, that Jesus is the Saviour of the world; and John desires to draw more attention to the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As for the drawing up of the Gospels we teach that Matthew wrote his in the year 57, Mark in the year 59, Luke in the year 61 and John in the year 91. Luke finished the writing of the Acts of the Apostles in the year 62. John wrote his Gospel in Ephesus before he was taken to Rome for martyrdom, and therefore wrote the Apocalypse later on, as we shall see. In Chapter XXXIV of this Treatise we have already spoken of the languages in which each Evangelist wrote his Gospel, as also of the translations into other languages made by some of them. It is well to make clear that before Her Assumption into Heaven, the Most Holy Virgin Mary had spoken to Pope Peter of the urgent need to work on the composition of the Gospels, and that he, due to the insistence of the Mother and Mistress of the Church, had prayed ceaselessly to the Holy Ghost to inspire him and to accomplish that sublime task. Of the different versions of the mysteries of the Life, Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ that have appeared, Holy Mother Church has acknowledged as canonical only the four Gospels written by Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke and Saint John.
111. Following the happy outcome of the III Council of Jerusalem, Pope Peter, the missionary Apostles and many other bishops there assembled, began to depart for their respective territories. The first to set out was the Apostle Paul, who, guarded by several Roman soldiers, on the 2lst of September, left for his prison at Caesarea Maritime. On the 30th of September Peter began his return journey to Rome. He was accompanied by his entourage which included the Apostle John, who, however, remained at Ephesus to govern the Christian communities of Asia as their Patriarch. Prior to his arrival at the Apostolic See, the Pope for three months toured some dioceses of Asia Minor and Greece, particularly those least visited by him. On the 30th of December 57 Peter reached Rome, where he stayed for about a year, dedicated to increasing the number of Christian communities, further consolidating those already existent, and propagating by way of messengers the resolutions of the III Council of Jerusalem in the territories that had not had the opportunity to learn of them by other means. But let us see what occurred meanwhile at Jerusalem. The prodigies witnessed in the city on the occasion of the Gentle Dormition and Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the holding of the III Council, and the gathering of Peter, the other missionary Apostles and many other bishops and faithful of the Church for these events, alarmed the Sanhedrin exceedingly. The latter, though not acting openly against the Christians at the time, did not leave matters so when, some days later, a goodly number of those come to Jerusalem had left on their return journies. For the apostate Bishop Nicholas, in the guise of a new Judas Iscariot, presented himself before the impious High Priest Ananias and his Sanhedritic Council to instigate them to act against Christ’s Church, which thus became the victim of another persecution. As the Sanhedritic Council was aware that the Procurator Felix, resident at Caesarea Maritime, was not partial to the shedding of blood, it carried out the new persecution more cautiously, though no less efficaciously on that account, and to do so bribed not a few Roman soldiers, who falsely alleged that their interventions were to stamp out possible Christian seditions against the Empire. Many members of Christ’s Church were exiled from Jerusalem, and others departed in the face of their persecutors’ threats. God availed Himself of the persecution in order to spread the Gospel to other parts it had not as yet reached or where it was little known. The Sanhedrin’s repressive measures against the Christians ceased shortly before the end of the year 57. We must mention that during this persecution, among those exiled were Bishop Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. After being taken prisoners to the port of Joppe, together with many other Christians they were put on board a vessel purposely rendered unseaworthy, and thus left to die at the mercy of the waves. In a few days the vessel miraculously reached the port of Marseilles in France, a city that was evangelized by Lazarus, its first Bishop, and where Martha founded a community of Carmelite women religious; while Mary Magdalen withdrew to a solitary place to live and die as a religious penitent, where she came to be a model of the contemplative life. In collaboration with Bishop Lazarus, Martha carried out a great apostolate through the southeast of France. The others that miraculously reached the port of Marseilles with Lazarus of Bethany and his sisters - an expedition that included bishops, men and women religious and lay faithful dispersed through different parts of Europe: some ruled dioceses, others founded Carmelite convents, and in general all devoted themselves to spreading the Gospel, each according to his state. Among those who had to leave Jerusalem on account of the persecution we must mention Joseph of Arimathea, who made towards the north of Europe, and who became the first bishop to evangelize England; Martial, who headed for France, and who became the first bishop of Limoges, and so forth. James the Less remained in Jerusalem despite the persecution by the Sanhedrin, and continued to be respected by the Jews, given the sympathy he enjoyed amongst them; and there also remained, among other men and women religious, Mary Most Holy’s sisters Mary Cleophas and Mary Salome. The two sisters died gently at the Cenacle of Jerusalem at 3 p.m. on the 8th of December of that year, 57, thereby fulfilling their most ardent desire to join their most beloved Sister, the Divine Mary, as soon as possible in Heaven. Both were buried in the family tomb at the Garden of Olives, where they remained four days; for on the 12th of December that year their respective essential and accidental bodies resuscitated, and shared in the beatific joy of the soul from that very moment.
112. Returning now to Rome, then the Apostolic See, we teach that after Pope Peter’s return Christianity was greatly extended, not only in the capital of the Empire, but also in other parts of Italy, since these were the first years of Nero’s reign, a pacific man at that time. After this stay of his in Rome, on the 8th of December 58 Pope Peter set out on a new and long journey through Europe; wherefore, accompanied by an entourage of seven bishops, on that day he left for France, which he entered at the port of Marseilles on the 15th of December. There he joined Lazarus, Martha and Mary Magdalen. He then went on to Limouges, a diocese ruled by Bishop Martial, and then visited, among others, the cities of Toulouse, Lyon and Paris. After an intense apostolate in France, on the 15th of June 59 the great Fisher of men embarked for England, crossed the English Channel and in Glastonbury visited Joseph of Arimathea, England’s first bishop. He then toured different parts of England, where he also preached the Gospel in London, at the port which he embarked on the 1Oth of October that year 59, and arrived two days later at what is now the Belgian port of Ostend. After crossing Belgian territory he entered Holland, and reached as far as the port of Rotterdam. After an apostolate of more than two months through the two territories, on the 17th of December that year Peter made his way up the Rhine to enter Germany, where he evangelized the cities of Cologne, Triers and Mainz. After a stay in the city of Strasbourg he entered Switzerland at Basle, following which he returned to Germany and visited Augsburg. On the 15th of August of the year 60 Pope Peter headed for what is now Austria, where he visited, among others, the cities of Salzburg and Vienna; and once in the Austrian region of Carynthia, he reentered Italy on the 17th of December 60, and headed directly for Rome, which he reached on the 24th of December that year.
113. We leave Pope Peter at the Apostolic See in Rome in order to turn to the Apostle Paul, who at the end of September of the year 57 we left prisoner in the Roman Praetorium of Caesarea Maritime. Continuing our interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles we see that verse 27 of chapter XXIV, referring to the length of Paul’s stay in prison, says: «But when two years had passed, Felix had for successor Portius Festus. And wishing to win the favour of the Jews, he left Paul bound.» As we know, the Apostle of the Gentiles had been confined in the Roman Praetorium of Caesarea Maritime on the 6th of June 57, so that in June 59 the two years’ imprisonment referred to in that verse had elapsed. At mid-year the Procurator Felix’s term of office expired, and he was replaced by Portius Festus, who on the 18th of June took possession of the Roman provincial government. The astute Portius Festus, desirous of winning the favour of the Jews, was not concerned to free Paul from prison, knowing that he was there through the intrigues of the Sanhedrin. In verse 1 of chapter XXV of the Acts of the Apostles we read that «when Festus was come into the province, after three days, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea» (Acts XXV, 1). That is to say that since it was the 18th of June 59 when he had taken possession of office in Caesarea Maritime, it was the 21st of that month when Portius Festus left for Jerusalem, which he reached on the 23rd; for he considered of the greatest importance that his authority should be confirmed in Jerusalem by the members of the Sanhedrin, with whom he had a meeting at once. Verses 2-5 of chapter XXV relate how the Jewish religious authorities asked Festus to have Paul brought to Jerusalem, which was with the intention of killing him on the way; and how the Roman Procurator invited them to go to Caesarea Maritime and there present their accusations against the Apostle. Bearing in mind the Greek version, the sacred text says of Portius Festus that, «having tarried among them no more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea» (Acts XXV, 6a). We teach that the Procurator spent eight days in Jerusalem, and left the city on the 1st of July. After Festus had returned to Caesarea Maritime, Saint Luke continues: «The next day he sat in the judgement seat and commanded Paul to be brought» (Acts XXV, 6b), which was on the 4th of July 59. The author of the Acts of the Apostles then narrates Paul’s trial before Festus’ tribunal in Caesarea Maritime, and whose verses we include here for greater clarification: «Who being brought, the Jews that were come from Jerusalem stood about him accusing him of many and grievous crimes which they could not prove; Paul defended himself saying that neither against the Law of the Jews, nor against the Temple, nor against Caesar, had he committed any crime. But Festus, wishing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, answering Paul said: Will you go up to Jerusalem and there be judged of these things before me? Then Paul said: I stand before Caesar’s court, where it is right that I be judged. To the Jews I have done no injury, as you very well know. For if I have done them some injury or anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die. But if there be none of that whereof they accuse me, no man may deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar. Then Festus, having conferred with the Council, answered: Have you appealed to Caesar? To Caesar shall you go» (Acts XXV, 7-12). As we interpret from the sacred text, Paul again resorts to self-defence in order to free himself from death, manifesting that he had committed no offence, either against Jewish Law or against the Temple or against Caesar. In so doing he neither lied nor dissimulated, since the fact that he had preached before and had condemned the Jewish rites and the Temple of Jerusalem - no longer sacred owing to the apostasy of the Jewish Church - did not imply any crime in him, given that he had acted in truthfulness and with an upright conscience according to the Christian Faith he professed. Besides, though not recorded in the sacred text, Paul stated that in conscience he had not committed any of the crimes of which he stood accused by the Sanhedrin. Verses 13-27 of chapter XXV that we are interpreting, narrate the visit made to Festus in Caesarea Maritime by King Herod Agrippa II, and Berenice - the monarch’s sister and incestuous concubine. As is seen in the sacred text, the Roman Procurator spoke to Agrippa about Paul, the intrigues of the Jews against him, how he had not found in the Apostle any crime against Caesar and his Empire, that the Jews’ dislike for Paul was for being a follower of Christ, and of how, having suggested to him that he should go to Jerusalem to be judged, he had appealed to the tribunal of Caesar. As Agrippa became interested to know and hear Paul, on the 25th of July of that year 59 the Apostle was brought before the king and his concubine Berenice. Festus was also present, since he wished to know the King’s views on Paul in order to send a report to Caesar in which Agrippa’s opinion was included, which was something he considered very appropriate given the Apostle’s having appealed to Nero,
114. Verses 1-23 of chapter XXVI of the Acts of the Apostles relate the lengthy discourse which Paul made in self-defence at the above appearance before King Herod Agrippa II on the 25th of July 59. According to our interpretation, the Apostle manifested, among other things, his Jewish origin, his former avowal of Judaism and membership of the sect of Pharisees, his previous condition of persecutor of Christ’s Church, his sudden conversion to Christianity on the way to Damascus, and how he was chosen by Christ to preach the Gospel in every place, to the Jews and more especially to the Gentiles, in order that all should be converted to Christ and do worthy acts of penance. For this cause he suffered persecution from the Jews, who had seized him in the Temple of Jerusalem to kill him. Paul concluded his discourse thus: «But being aided by the help of God, I continue to this day witnessing to little and to great, saying nothing but that which the Prophets and Moses did say should come to pass: That Christ should suffer and that He should be the first to rise from the dead in order to announce the light to the people and to the Gentiles» (Acts XXVI, 22-23). Although the Procurator Portius Festus knew something about the course of Paul’s life from the report given him by Felix the former Procurator, nevertheless until then he had not heard it from the Apostle himself, and in such detail. Thus when Paul ended his discourse, «Festus said with a loud voice: Paul, you are beside yourself: much learning has turned your head. And Paul said: I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I speak words of truth and good sense» (Acts XXVI, 24-25), Paul at once adducing that King Agrippa already knew all that the Apostle himself had just said about his life and apostolic mission (Acts XXVI, 26). Having observed that the King had listened to his discourse with some interest, Paul saw it very opportune to call him to conversion. Thus he said to him: «Do you believe the Prophets, O King Agrippa? I know you believe. And Agrippa said to Paul: For little you will persuade me to become a Christian» (Acts XXVI, 27-28), whereby the King gave a glimpse of his astute irony. To this Paul replied: «I would to God that both for little and for much, not only you, but also all that hear me, should become today such as I also am, except these chains» (Acts XXVI, 29). Paul’s appearance before Agrippa, Festus and Berenice ended with their opinion in favour of his innocence, to the point that the King himself was inclined to set Paul free, had the Apostle not appealed to Caesar (Acts XXVI, 30-32).
115. Chapter XXVII of the Acts of the Apostles relates some of the episodes on Paul’s journey to Rome, whither he was sent by the Procurator Festus to lodge his appeal before Caesar. Verses I and 2 state: «And when it was determined to send him by sea to Italy and that Paul with other prisoners should be delivered to a centurion named Julius of the Augusta cohort, going onto a ship of Adrumetum, we set sail, meaning to coast the lands of Asia, and in our company taking Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica» (Acts XXVII, 1-2). We teach that on the 1st of August 59 Paul, along with other prisoners given into the custody of a centurion named Julius, was set onto a vessel hailing from the city of Adrumetum, in the region of Mysia, Asia Minor, and then at anchor in the port of Caesarea Maritime. As we interpret from the sacred text, with Procurator Festus’ leave the disciples Luke and Aristarchus accompanied Paul. After a day’s sailing, that is, on the 2nd of August, the ship reached the Phoenician port of Sidon, where Paul was allowed to visit some Christian faithful and furnish himself with what he needed to continue the voyage (Acts XXVII, 3). On the 17th of the same month the vessel conveying Paul and the rest left the port of Sidon, and as Saint Luke states, «we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary» (Acts XXVII, 4); that is, they were obliged to change course and to sail through the Sea of Cilicia, between Cyprus and Asia Minor. Having passed the sea, and leaving behind the region of Pamphylia to the right, they put into port at Myra of Lycia, as appears in the Greek text, and not at Lystra, a city that is not a port and besides belongs to Lycaonia (Acts XXVII, 5). On the 4th of September 59 (Acts XXVII, 6-8), the centurion guarding Paul contracted a ship come from Alexandria that was heading for Italy; but when from afar they saw the city of Gnidus of Caria, headwinds pushed them towards the island of Candia, also known as Crete, which they coasted until on the lst of October 59 they stopped at the town of Thalassa or Lassia. Verses 9 and 1O state: «And when much time was spent and sailing was now unsafe because the fast was now passed, Paul encouraged them, saying: Men, I see that sailing is becoming very hard, and with much danger not only to the ship and her cargo, but also to our lives» (Acts XXVII, 9-10). In other words, since autumn had already begun - for thus must be interpreted `thefast was now passed’, which refers to the Jewish fast of expiation which in that year fell on the 1st of October, a detail furnished by Saint Luke for our orientation as to when the event occurred - Paul proposed to the centurion that all should remain there until winter was over, since the season of great cloudiness and tempests was at hand. As the centurion paid no heed to Paul, but rather to those sailing the ship, who did not think that town good for passing the winter, he decided to move on to the port of Phenice, now called Port Loutro, likewise in Crete, with the intention of wintering there. Verse 13 says that «the south wind blowing, thinking they had obtained their purpose, after they had loosed from Asson, they coasted along Crete» (Acts XXVII, 13). Employing the Greek text, we teach that Asson does not exist, wherefore that name must be substituted by the adverb `close by’. Therefore it must be interpreted that, with the vessel at anchor in the port of Thalassa or Lassia, when a favourable wind arose, on the 4th of October they raised anchor thinking they would easily reach the port of Phenice, and sailed close by the coast of the island of Candia or Crete, but were unable to reach that port owing to a mighty tempest that swept the ship to the island of Cauda (Acts XXVII, 11 -16). So great was the fear that took hold of them, for the tempest waxed ever fiercer, that a day later, the 5th of October, they jettisoned part of the ship’s cargo, and on the following day, the 6th of October, had even to throw overboard the ship’s tackling itself. In the adverse and unpleasant weather, since for many days they had seen neither sun nor stars, navigating now off course, without rest, without food, and with scant hope of survival, Paul addressed all and reproached them for not having followed his advice to stay at the town of Thalassa or Lassia. But at the same time he admonished them to be of good cheer, for an Angel of God had told him that only the ship would be lost and not one of those on board, as a grace given to Paul, to whom the Angel also announced that he should not fear and that it was necessary for him to appear before Caesar. Moreover, the Apostle foretold that very soon they would encounter an island (Acts XXVII, 17-26). On the 19th of October, that is, 14 days after they had jettisoned part of the cargo, now in the Adriatic Sea they suspected land to be close. As the sailors feared that the ship might run aground on a sandbank, for they were in shallow waters (Acts XXVII, 27-29), they cast the skiff or lifeboat into the sea with the intention of escaping in it, which was thwarted by the centurion and the soldiers because of Paul’s warning that if the sailors were allowed to leave, those remaining on board would perish; wherefore, by severing the skiff’s moorings to the ship, it was abandoned (Acts XXVII, 30-32). Verses 33-38 relate, according to our interpretation, Paul’s miraculous multiplication of a loaf of bread, left over from those baked some days before. As we gather from the sacred text, prior to that miracle the Apostle addressed words of encouragement to all on board and invited them to eat something, for they had gone without nourishment for 14 days; neither had the violent rolling of the vessel allowed any food to be prepared. Verse 35 says that Paul, «taking bread... gave thanks to God in the sight of them all. And when he had broken it, he began to eat» (Acts XXVII, 35). That is to say that the bread, broken into fragments by Paul, suddenly multiplied into numerous pieces of bread, fresh and tasty as if recently taken from the oven, which he ate first to demonstrate that the food was real and edible and not a fantasy as some might have thought. Besides, at the sight of the miracle, «then they were all of better cheer and also ate» (Acts XXVII, 36); so that the 276 persons aboard ship `ate their fill’ (Acts XXVII, 38), and left over a good quantity of pieces of bread. Thus strengthened, and seeing moreover that there were reserves of bread left for their nourishment, in order to lighten the ship they jettisoned the provisions of wheat on board. Paul’s miracle drew some to the Christian Faith, who received Baptism. Little by little they neared the land they had sighted, unaware that it was an island, having seen what seemed to be an inlet or low shore, to which they guided the ship with the objective of beaching there, for the wind was favourable (Acts XXVII, 39-40). When close to the beach, as they did not observe the hidden sandbank that was there, the ship ran aground and was broken up by the battering of the waves. Seeing that the prisoners could take flight by swimming away, the opinion of the Roman soldiers was to slay them, which was prevented by the centurion because he was desirous of saving Paul. Thus he ordered that those who could swim should make for the safety of land; while those that could not, got to land with the help of boards and the flotsam of the ship, and so it happened that all were saved (Acts XXVII, 41-44). Thus was fulfilled what Paul had foretold, that not one should perish. It was on that same 19th of October that all in this manner took refuge on the island, which as they afterwards found out was that of Malta. The place of the shipwreck is now known as Saint Paul’s Bay.
116. Verses 1-16 of chapter XXVIII of the Acts of the Apostles narrate the rest of Paul’s journey to Rome. Saint Luke says that on the island of Malta the inhabitants, called barbarians by Greeks and Romans because they spoke neither Greek nor Latin, treated Paul and all with great kindness. The sacred text recounts the miracle of the Apostle who, when bitten by a viper, remained unscathed. Concerning that episode Saint Luke says that when the barbarians saw the reptile fastened onto Paul’s hand, «they said one to another: Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, who though he has escaped the sea yet vengeance does not suffer him to live» (Acts XXVIII, 4). That is, they believed that for his crimes Paul was being persecuted to death by the goddess of vengeance, a pagan deity of the island, as is seen in the Greek text; and that, though he had escaped from the shipwreck he would not now survive the serpent’s bite. But seeing no harm befall him, filled with admiration they took Paul to be a god. As we interpret from verses 7-8, the Roman Procurator of the island, Publius by name, with every hospitality lodged Paul, together with Luke and Aristarchus, at his home; and the Apostle cured Publius’ father, at which miracle, we teach, both were converted to Christianity; and many sick came to Paul and were healed. They stayed for three months on the island of Malta, where Paul realized a great apostolate and established a Christian community, leaving Publius as first bishop, who governed the diocese for 30 years. Grateful to Paul for the good he had done them, the inhabitants of the island of Malta provided him with everything necessary to conclude his journey. Hence on the 19th of January 60, that is, when the winter weather dangerous for navigation had passed, they embarked on a ship from Alexandria whose insignia was Castor and Pollux. The next day they reached Syracuse in Sicily, where they tarried for three days. On the 22nd that month they left Syracuse, and stopped at Reggio on the Strait of Messina the next day. They left this port the following day and arrived two days later, on the 26th of January 60, at the port of Puteoli (Pozzuoli) by present-day Naples, where they found some brethren in the Faith, with whom they stayed for seven days. On the 2nd of February they left Puteoli (Pozzuoli) by land for Rome, which they reached on the 5th of February. According as we interpret from verse 15, from Puteoli (Pozzuoli) the Christians had sent notice to Rome to say that Paul would soon arrive. Thus the sacred text says that «when the brethren had heard, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Taverns» (Acts XXVIII, 15a). That is, some Christians came to meet Paul at the city of Three Taverns, now called Cisterna, and others at Appius’ Forum, city now know as San Donato, which is a little further from Rome than the first mentioned. The same verse says: «now when Paul saw, he gave thanks to God and took courage» (Acts XXVIII, 15b). We teach that on his arrival at Rome Paul was delivered into the keeping of the Prefect of the Praetorium, called Aphronius Burrhus, a person of great prestige with Emperor Nero. The Apostle was not taken to any of the Empire’s prisons, but rather was allowed to rent a house in which he lived under the vigilance of a Roman soldier, as is interpreted from verse 16: «And, when we were come to Rome, Paul was suffered to dwell in a private house, with a soldier that guarded him» (Acts XXVIII, 16).
117. Verses 17-29 of chapter XXVIII of the Acts of the Apostles relate Paul’s apostolate among the Jews of Rome on the first days of his arrival in the city. Verses l7-19 state: «And after the third day he called together the chief men of the Jews. And when they were assembled, he said to them: Men, brethren, although I have done nothing against the people or the laws of our fathers, I was made prisoner in Jerusalem and delivered into the hands of the Romans. Who when they had examined me would have released me, not finding cause of death in me. But the Jews opposing, I was constrained to appeal to Caesar: not that I have anything to accuse my nation of» (Acts XXVIII, 17-19). We teach that on the 8th of February 6O, that is, three days after Paul had arrived at Rome together with Luke and Aristarchus, he invited the leading Jews of the city to his own house in order to speak to them of the Faith of Christ. When in verse 17 the Apostle states that «although I have done nothing against the people or the laws of our fathers», he manifests that although in his preaching he had necessarily to condemn, as Christ’s Apostle, many of the morals, rites and precepts of the Judaic religion because of their opposition to the Law of the Gospel, this action of his was in no wise criminal since he had acted in truthfulness and with upright conscience. He also wished to show them, besides, that he had committed no political, social or other crime, and therefore that his being a prisoner in Rome was due to the Sanhedrin’s intrigues against him. This Council had so pressured the civil tribunals, that deemed him innocent, that the Apostle found himself obliged to appeal to Caesar for fear that the tribunals would yield to the Sanhedrin’s intrigues. Concerning the words `not that I have anything to accuse my nation of’ (Acts XXVIII, 19b), Paul is saying that his mission before Caesar was to make his appeal in order that his innocence be officially acknowledged and he be granted liberty, and that he had no intention of denouncing his persecutors since he had forgiven them; for we teach that Paul vehemently longed to recover his freedom in order to return to his intense evangelical apostolate. Paul then tells those invited to his house in Rome that he had sunnnoned them with the following end in view: «to see you and to speak to you. Because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain» (Acts XXVIII, 20). That is, for the cause of the Promised Messias he found himself a prisoner in his own home; though not bound in chains inside, he could not freely go out; and when he went out he was always bound by one hand to the soldier in charge of his custody. The Jews told the Apostle that they had heard no evil spoken of him and that they were desirous to hear from his lips what was to be known of the Christian sect, which they had heard of and which they knew was everywhere contradicted. As is seen in verse 23, the Jews that went to Paul’s home agreed to return another day set by them, which was Monday the 12th of that month of February of the year 60, when a goodly number of them assembled at the Apostle’s home. From morning till evening Paul gave courageous testimony of Christ, basing himself on the Messianic Prophecies. Some believed what he said while others did not. Seeing that due to the discord amongst them they were about to withdraw, the Apostle reminded them of the prophecy of Isaias that foretells the blindness, deafness and obstinacy of the Jewish People in not recognizing the Promised Messias; wherefore the salvation of God rejected by them would pass to the Gentiles. Following these final words of Paul, the Jews left his home «having much argument among themselves» (Acts XXVIII, 29). Saint Luke ends his narrative of the Acts of the Apostles saying: «And Paul remained two whole years in his own hired lodging: and he received all that came to see him, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all liberty, without prohibition» (Acts XXVIII, 30-31). But we make clear that Paul’s apostolate was rather among the Gentiles, with Christianity spreading extremely rapidly through Rome and other parts of Italy; in suchwise that there were Christian faithful even in the Emperor’s palace itself. amongst the imperial guard, the servants and other posts. During the two years in which the Apostle remained a prisoner in his house at Rome he wrote some of his Epistles, as we shall see. On the 25th of March of the year 60 the Apostle Paul, through the Prefect of the Praetorium Aphronius Burrhus, presented his appeal to Nero Caesar.
118. Let us however turn our attention again to Pope Peter, who after his long journey through Europe, had returned to Rome on the 24th of December 60. Even before reaching the capital he knew that the Apostle of the Gentiles was a prisoner, awaiting the outcome of his appeal presented to Caesar, in which he made plain his innocence of the accusations that the Jews of Jerusalem had brought against him before Procurator Felix. The first thing Peter did when he arrived at Rome was to visit Paul, a prisoner at his own home. The latter informed the vicar of Christ of the apostolate he had been carrying out, and of the persecutions he had suffered from the Sanhedrin. Peter comforted the Apostle in his tribulations, exhorting him, moreover, not to cease during his imprisonment to send his words of encouragement to Christians by way of Epistles. Until the end of the year 62, while living in Rome Pope Peter visited many other cities of Italy and neighbouring islands as well, which contributed to a great spread of Christianity; for during the time in which Pope Peter and his vicar Paul were together in the capital of the Roman Empire, conversions to the Christian Faith were very numerous, particularly among Gentiles. On the 24th of February 62 the Emperor Nero ruled that judicial proceedings against Paul should cease, for after having received due reports from his representative in Judea concerning the Sanhedrin’s accusations, he found insufficient cause for prosecution; wherefore the Apostle was set free on the 6th of February 62, that is, two years after his arrival at Rome. Paul’s time in prison meant great spiritual progress for him, since it had given him a special opportunity to exercise patience, a virtue difficult for the Apostle’s restless and impulsive temperament. Paul’s liberation was the cause of great jubilation for Pope Peter and Rome’s Christian faithful, who were visited in their homes by the Apostle of the Gentiles, and all of whom became further strengthened in the Faith through his edifying words.
119. On the 25th of March that year, 62, anniversary of the Passion and Death of Christ, Pope Peter sent his vicar Paul from Rome to carry out an apostolicjourney through Spain, The next day, March the 26th, the Apostle of the Gentiles embarked from the Roman port of Ostia, and accompanied by several bishops and the presbyter Rufus, son of Simon the Cyrenian, headed for the island of Corsica. From here he sailed to the Spanish port of Tarragona, where he disembarked on the 5th of April of that same year 62. Paul remained in that city for several days, carrying out a great apostolate. He then proceeded to the city of Tortosa, and after preaching the Gospel there headed for Zaragoza, where he prayed in the chapel raised by James the Greater in honour of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and further strengthened the faith of the Christians of that diocese. The Apostle of the Gentiles traversed the greater part of Spain and Portugal, crossing the peninsula from north to south and from east to west, though he tarried more in those places already constituted as dioceses and ruled by their respective bishops; among which we must mention Avila, Toledo, Seville, Ecija, Granada, Cartagena, Valencia and Barcelona. To fulfil the desire of Our Lord Jesus Christ, before Her Assumption to Heaven the Most Holy Virgin Mary had charged Paul to take with him, when he should go to Spain, a small image of Her made by Saint Luke, and which the Apostle enthroned in a chapel 400 metres from Ecija. That image was afterwards taken to Seville by King Saint Hermenegild, and venerated in the district of Triana under the title of Mary Reparatrix. At the Mohammedan invasion, several of the district’s devotees, miraculously assisted by the Archangel Saint Raphael, took the image to the north of Spain to a place near Santander, where it was hidden and later on discovered, it for that reason receiving the title of ‘Happy Appearance’. As we said elsewhere, Paul’s mission in Spain was especially to the Gentiles, and thanks to his apostolic impetus Christianity spread far and wide in all of the Iberian Peninsula. Saint Paul created many dioceses during his apostolate, and consecrated bishops to rule them. Paul remained in Spain until the 15th of August 63, when he left for Rome. Before departing he designated Rufus the first Bishop of Tortosa (Tarragona province) after having conferred the episcopate on him in that diocese. On his journey from Spain to Rome Paul passed through the Spanish city of Ampurias (Gerona province), and then entered France. Here he visited the cities of Narbonne, Nimes and Marseilles, in the latter of which he encountered Lazarus and his two sisters. He then entered Italy and, passing through Genoa and Pisa, reached the capital of the Empire on the 25th of January 64. Wherever Paul passed through on his return journey he accomplished a great apostolate. When the Apostle reached Rome Pope Peter was not there; for on the 28th of December 62 he had set out on another journey through Europe with the aim of visiting southern Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Ukraine, Rumania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, before returning to the city of Rome on the 25th of December 64, where, on his return, he did not find Paul; for after his return from Spain the Apostle of the Gentiles had set out from Rome again on the 15th of May 64, accompanied by Titus and others, on a long journey through Greece and Asia Minor, during which he visited the island of Crete where he left Titus as its bishop. He then returned to Greece, which he reached on the 8th of December that year, 64, and where he passed the winter in the city of Nicopolis, in the west of the peninsula. On the 30th of March 65, Paul embarked at Nicopolis for the diocese of northern Africa, where he visited among others the cities of Cyrene, Berenice, Tripoli and Carthage, though he did also evangelize many other places. He returned to Rome on the 15th of August 65.
120. It pertains now to speak of the persecution suffered by the Church in the time of Nero. That Emperor, who during the first five years of his reign had been distinguished for his benevolence, prudence and pacific character, later became so corrupt as to commit the most abominable of atrocities, one of which was the burning of Rome on the 18th of July 64, of which he accused the Christians as authors to free himself from the detestation of his people. That was, then, the start of the first persecution of the Church by the Roman Caesars, decreed by Nero in August 64, and which was more violent at certain times than at others. When on the 25th of December of that year, 64, Pope Peter returned to Rome from his second European journey, the persecution’s fury had abated somewhat, though great was the number of Christians who had given their lives for their faith in Christ. Reduced to the catacombs, the Church prayed ceaselessly for the strengthening of her members and the conversion of her oppressors, although testimony to the Gospel through the shedding of blood ever increased the numbers of faithful. Following the Pope’s return, the Christians of Rome were much comforted by their personal contact with the Supreme Shepherd and Universal Father of the Church, who could thus share more directly in his children’s sufferings and tribulations. To the paternity of the Vicar of Christ was later added the burning zeal of the Apostle Paul, who had returned to Rome as we know on the 15th of August 65. The two pre-eminent pillars of the Church, each in his respective mission, accomplished a fruitful task confirmed by greater miracles, not only in the capital of the Empire but also in all Italy; wherefore the persecuted Church, ever increasing the number of her faithful, was further consolidated. Christianity flourished so much through Peter and Paul’s intense labours, that even the Emperor Nero’s own palace came to be practically full of followers of Christ, who, concealing their condition of Christians, continued in the service of the Empire in positions - some of certain importance - that did not come into conflict with their Faith. So great was the vigilance of the Roman authorities that the Christians did not dare to hold worship in their homes, but were forced to do so in the various subterranean galleries or catacombs that the Roman families used to excavate as private cemeteries, and which the faithful gradually enlarged until a great part of the city’s subsoil was burrowed with tunnels. As we interpret from Saint Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy, written when the Apostle was in Rome’s Mamer-tine prison and in which he tells that predilect disciple to «Make haste to come before winter» (2 Tim. IV, 21), the Apostle of the Gentiles had been arrested by the Roman authorities in October of the year 66 and conveyed to that prison, whence he would leave to be martyred; for Paul’s indisputable fieriness and his status as a Roman citizen had on occasions led the Apostle to preach the Gospel in Rome’s public places, making it an easy matter to take him prisoner. He had even to appear before the Emperor Nero himself to give an account of the doctrine he preached. In spite of everything, by a special providence Paul’s life continued to be respected out of consideration for his prestige and Roman citizenship. As for Pope Peter, we teach that on the 25th of March 67 he was arrested in Rome by soldiers and also led to the Mamertine prison, to the same section where Paul and many other Christians found themselves. In June 67 the Christian faithful of Rome suffered one of the most terrible persecutions of Nero’s reign, many of them being taken to the amphitheatre to be devoured by wild beasts in the midst of a bloody spectacle, attended by the Emperor himself on quite a number of occasions. That amphitheatre, known as `military’, had been constructed of wood by Nero after the burning of Rome; it was built on what was known as Mars’ Field, opposite Vatican Hill. On the 25th of June 67 Peter converted and baptized in the Christian faith two of the Mamertine Prison warders, Processus and Martinianus by name, who shortly afterwards shed their blood for Christ. These warders opened the prison gates for Peter; whereby the Pope was able to leave prison with the aim of fleeing Rome. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «shortly before his death, the first Pope, the great Apostle Saint Peter, during an horrendous persecution of the Christians by the Romans, following an initial natural impulse of self-preservation without serious reflection, fled Rome. On the outskirts of the city, Our Lord Jesus Christ carrying a heavy cross, crowned with thorns and bleeding profusely, appeared to him. Before that admirable apparition, Saint Peter on his knees asked Christ: `Whither do you go, Lord?’ To which Christ replied: `I go to Rome, to be crucified anew.’ These divine words gave Peter to understand that the hour of his own crucifixion had come, and casting himself at the Lord’s feet, he kissed them and humbly besought forgiveness. Forthwith Christ, transformed into glorious aspect, forgave him, blessed him, embraced him and kissed him paternally on the face. Following all of which the illustrious Apostle Saint Peter, filled with courage, headed for the Coliseum of Rome to render public testimony of Christ. After having accomplished that admirable testimony he was arrested by the persecutors, and he crowned his testimony with crucifixion on Vatican Hill.» We teach that this apparition of Christ to Saint Peter took place at 12 o’clock midday on the 25th of June 67 as he, in the company of others, left Rome by the ancient Via Appia, on which afterwards the `Quo vadis, Domine?’ chapel was built to commemorate so glorious an event. Since at the very moment that Christ had appeared to Saint Peter there was being held one of the cruellest spectacles in the military amphitheatre, in Nero’s presence, in which many Christians were martyred, prompted by a mysterious impulse Peter headed for that building, and when inside, from one of the highest tiers whence he could easily be seen, in a powerful voice addressed words of encouragement to the martyrs and solemnly blessed them. The Pope then addressed Nero, reproaching him and the lackeys making up that ferocious audience for their impiety and abominable crimes, rendering them testimony of Christ and exhorting them to conversion. When Peter finished speaking he was arrested by the Romans and again led to the Mamertine prison, where as we know Saint Paul was, together with many other Christians. We make clear that the present amphitheatre of Vespasian, commonly known as the Coliseum, was built after Nero’s death. Hence when His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII says that Saint Peter headed for the Coliseum, he is referring to the military amphitheatre built by Nero, which for its colossal dimensions also deserved the name of Coliseum. On Friday the 29th of June 67, Pope Peter was taken to Vatican Hill, upon which was Nero’s circus, and was crucified there at 3 p.m. We confirm as true the tradition that the Apostle, after being crucified, uttered these words: `I am not worthy to die as did my Divine Master.’ To which the soldiers answered: `That is easy to remedy.’ They then inverted the cross so that Peter was crucified upside down, that is, the reverse way to the Lord. That same day, Friday the 29th of June 67, the Apostle Paul was taken outside the walls of the city on the road to Ostia, and at the place now known as Tre Fontane was at 4 p.m. beheaded, given that he was a Roman citizen; though his body was buried at the spot where afterwards the Basilica of Saint Paul’s Beyond the Walls would be raised. We manifest as true the tradition that Saint Paul’s head, when severed from his body, rebounded so that it struck the ground three times, there miraculously springing up a fountain of water at each spot touched by the head. We teach that a few months before his martyrdom, Saint Peter designated Linus to succeed him in the Papacy following his death. In the light of the previous dogmatic Definition of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, it is well to make clear that Saint Peter’s flight from Rome for fear of martyrdom did not imply any kind of apostasy in him. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «although it is true that among the principal Apostles, secondary Apostles and Evangelists there were some who committed serious sins and had weaknesses and other defects, it is no less true that heroic Christian virtues superabounded in immense degree in every one of them.» We avail ourselves of the opportunity to clarify the following words of Saint Paul: «And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me. Therefore three times I besought the Lord to send him away from me; and He said to me: My grace suffices you; for virtue becomes perfect in weakneess. Gladly therefore will I glory in my weaknesses, that the virtue of Christ may dwell in me» (2 Cor. XII, 7-9). We teach that the Apostle refers to his carnal passions and temptations, on which account he had to fight resolutely to overcome them, given his impulsive temperament, his frequent contact with all kinds of people and the attacks of Satan.
121. It now behoves us to give some details relating to the martyrdom of the other Apostles, according to chronological order.
On the 1st of May 62, James the Less was arrested and brought to declare before the Sanhedrin assembled at the Temple in Jerusalem; and once the Apostle had given steadfast testimony of Christ he was taken up to the pinnacle of the Temple and hurled down; he was then stoned and finally done to death by blows on the head from a pole.
On the 28th of October 65, Saint Simon Cananaeus and Saint Judas Thaddaeus died martyrs in Persia; the former was sawn apart and the latter beheaded with an axe.
On the 21st of September 68, Saint Matthew, who was in Ethiopia, died pierced by a sword when he had just finished celebrating Holy Mass.
On the 21st of December 72, Saint Thomas died in India pierced by a lance.
On the 24th of August 73, in Armenia Saint Bartholomew was tied to a tree and died by being skinned
alive.
On the 30th of November 75, Saint Andrew died in the city of Patras in Greece, crucified on an X-shaped cross.
On the 24th of February 80, Saint Matthias died crucified in Saudi Arabia.
On the 1st of May 81, in the city of Hierapolis in present-day Turkey, Saint Philip was crucified and then done to death by stoning while still alive on the cross.
As for the apostle Saint John, we teach the following: As we know, when the III Council of Jerusalem had ended, the Evangelist went to Ephesus, whence as Patriarch he ruled the different Christian communities of Asia Minor. In the year 93, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, Saint John, who was in Ephesus, was brought before the court of the city’s Roman Proconsul, who ordered him to offer sacrifice to the idols. Since the Apostle roundly refused to do so, the Proconsul notified the Emperor, who commanded that Saint John be taken to Rome in chains. Here he had to endure most cruel imprisonment, torture and mockery from the pagans. Finally, since he persisted in refusing to worship the idols, on the 6th of May that year 93, before the Latin Gate Saint John was introduced into a cauldron of boiling oil, a martyrdom from which he miraculously emerged unscathed. As such a prodigy left the Emperor stupefied, he desisted from slaying Saint John, and exiled him some days later to the island of Patmos. During his exile on the island, the Apostle wrote his Book of the Apocalypse, in which he narrates the grandiose visions contemplated by him. On the 27th of December of the year 100, during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, Saint John was mysteriously taken up from the island of Patmos to the Planet of Mary, where he dwells until his return to the earth to prepare Christ’s Second Coming and to die a martyr afterwards in the terrible persecution under the Antichrist.
122. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «on Easter Sunday of the year 1034 of the Christian Era, the Holy Apostles, including Paul and Matthias, but not Saint John the Evangelist who as we know yet lives on the Planet of Mary, rose from the dead. Likewise, on that memorable day there rose Saints Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and Gamaliel; Christ’s dearly beloved friends, Saints Lazarus, Martha and Mary Magdalen; as well as the holy woman Veronica, Seraphia.» That is to say that on Easter Sunday 1034 of the Christian Era there rose glorious the essential and accidental bodies of the Apostles Peter, Paul, James the Greater, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the Less, Judas Thaddaeus, Simon Cananaeus and Matthias, as likewise the essential and accidental bodies of all the other Saints mentioned in the papal dogma. We teach that on Easter Sunday 1034 there also rose gloriously all the other Saints making up the number of 72 official disciples and the number of 40 pious women disciples of Mary, with the exception of Saints Mary Cleophas and Mary Salome who as we know had risen on the 12th of December 57, that is, almost ten centuries previously. The names of the 72 official disciples and of the 40 pious women disciples of Mary are given at the beginning of this chapter. Hence we see that on Easter Sunday 1034 the tombs and reliquaries of the aforementioned Apostles and men and women disciples, became absolutely empty, since from that moment they are in Heaven in body and soul. Consequently, after Easter Sunday 1034, mortal remains of those Saints no longer exist, even though the Church in good faith has authorized the veneration of relics of them as if they existed. The Church has not thereby jeopardized her infallibility, for until the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII no Pope had ever pronounced dogmatically as to the authenticity of the relics of the saints or as to their existence in one place or another. It is well to make clear that by all that has been said we do not exclude the possible glorious resurrection of other saints, both on the aforesaid date and on another.
123. As admirable proof of God’s infinite mercy, we here include the following dogmatic Definitions of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII: «It is infallible doctrine that the iniquitous judge who condemned Our Lord Jesus Christ to death, Pontius Pilate, was born in Spain in the Sevillian and patrician city of Italica.» «It is infallible doctrine that Pontius Pilate ended his days as a Christian, after prolonged hardship, in the present Sevillian town of Santiponce, next to Italica, living the life of a penitent; and that he died crowned with martyrdom in that place.» Amplifying the teaching a little, we teach that the Procurator Pontius Pilate, who unjustly condemned Our Lord Jesus Christ to death on the Cross, was in the year 36 deprived of his office and exiled to the French city of Vienne, near Lyons, in ancient Gaul. During that bitter exile he acknowledged his cowardly conduct in the trial of the Divine Messias; wherefore, stung with remorse for all his malice, he returned to his native city of Italica, by present-day Seville in Spain, where he was received into the bosom of the Church by Bishop Saint Gerontius, who baptized him. Pilate then lived a life of prayer, penance and poverty until his death by crucifixion during the persecution of Christians promoted by the Emperor Nero. Pilate’s conversion was due to a very special grace of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, won by the unceasing prayers and sacrifices of the Carmelite religious Claudia Procula, the Procurator’s spouse. With the passing of time the Christians of Italica, acknowledging Pontius Pilate’s heroic virtues, venerated him as a saint, and gave his name to the present-day town called Santiponce, which is beside the uncovered archeological remains of the ancient city of
Italica, though at the same time concealing part of the ruins of that Roman city. The name Santiponce is derived from the Latin Sancti Pontii, that is, city of Saint Pontius, since in that place, previously part of ancient Italica, Pontius Pilate was born and died.
124. We avail ourselves of this opportunity to clarify once and for all the places in which, and the dates on which the twenty one Apostolic Epistles were written.
a) The fourteen Epistles of Saint Paul: The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians: written in Corinth in the year 49, addressed to the faithful of Thessalonica. The Epistle to the Galatians: written in Ephesus in the year 54, addressed to the Christian faithful of the province of Galatia, Asia Minor. The First Epistle to the Corinthians: written in Ephesus in the year 54, addressed to the Christian faithful of Corinth. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: written in Philippi of Macedonia in the year 55, addressed to the Christian faithful of Corinth. The Epistle to the Romans: written in Corinth in the year 56, addressed to the Christian faithful of Rome. The Epistles to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians and to Philemon, written in the year 61 while Paul was prisoner at his house-prison in Rome, were addressed, respectively, to the Christian faithful of Ephesus, of Philippi of Macedonia, of Colossa (Asia Minor), and to Philemon, a Christian citizen of Colossa. The Epistle to the Hebrews was written in January of the year 62, during the aforementioned imprisonmentin Rome, when the Apostle nourished the hope that at last his appeal to Nero Caesar would be favourably received; it is addressed to the Christian faithful converted from Judaism whom he thought to visit once freed. The Epistle to Titus: written in Nicopolis, Greece, towards the end of the year 64, addressed to his disciple, Bishop Titus, at the time in Crete. The First Epistle to Timothy: written in Nicopolis, Greece, at the beginning of the year 65, addressed to his disciple, Bishop Timothy, then in Ephesus. And the Second Epistle to Timothy was written during Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome, in the year 66, some months before the Apostle died a martyr; it is addressed to his disciple, Bishop Timothy, who was in Ephesus.
b) James the Less wrote his Epistle in the year 57, shortly after the conclusion of the III Council of Jerusalem; it is addressed to the Christian faithful converted from Judaism.
c) The two Epistles of Saint Peter: The First Epistle was written in Rome during the year 47, addressed to the faithful of Asia Minor, after he had visited them during his return journey from Jerusalem following the II Council. The Second Epistle was written in the year 66, also in Rome, to the same faithful of Asia Minor.
d) The Evangelist Saint John wrote his Three Epistles in Ephesus: The First in the year 58, addressed to the Christian faithful of Asia Minor. The Second in the year 70, addressed to Electa. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII teaches: «It is infallible doctrine that when in his Second Epistle the Apostle Saint John the Evangelist speaks of two Ladies named `Electa’ and of their children (2 John I and 13),this mustbeunderstood as referring to two churches and their respective members»; that is, that he is referring to two local churches of the early Christian Church. The Third, written in the year 73, before he wrote his Gospel, was addressed to Bishop Gaius or Caius, a disciple of the Apostle Saint Paul.
e) Saint Judas Thaddaeus wrote his Epistle in the year 57; it is addressed to the Christian faithful scattered through the East (Persia, southern Mesopotantia-now Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Armenia, and so forth).
125. We give infinite thanks to the Most August and Most Blessed Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost; to the Divine Mary, Mother and Doctor of the Church; to Most Holy Joseph, Father and Doctor of the Church; to Saint Elias, Father and Model of Carmel; and to Saint Teresa of Jesus, Mother of our Order and Doctor of the Church: for the lights, inspirations and graces lavishly poured upon the Council Fathers in their elaboration of this Treatise on the Mass, bountiful fruit of the Holy, Great and Dogmatic Palmatian Council, infallibly directed by His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, Supreme Pontiff.
