See the ex-criminal reserved for state criminals awaiting execution where, according to tradition, the saints. Peter and Paul were criminalized before their martyrdom.
ROME — Hidden beneath the Church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters, among the ruins of ancient Rome, is the city’s oldest maximum-security prison: the Mamertine Prison.
Originally known as Carcer Tullianum (probably named after the Roman kings Tullius Hostilius or Servius Tullius), the Mamertine prison was built, according to tradition, by the mythical fourth king of Rome, Ancus Marcius, in the seventh century B. C.
Although it is believed to have been created as a cistern for a spring situated in the ground of the decreasing moment point (in fact, the word tullius also means Latin for “a jet of water”), the site soon became an integral component of Roman architecture. architecture. judicial formula for centuries.
“He’s an ancient Roman criminal from the very base of the city of Rome,” Father John D’Orazio, a Rome-based American priest who offers pilgrimages with the Pellegrinaggi Roman Opera, told the Register.
The criminal built at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, near the Arx – a Latin word meaning “citadel” – which “comes from the Latin arcere, which means ‘to keep away,'” explains Father D’Orazio. “So there’s a kind of play on words, between archer and carcere, which means ‘criminal. ‘
The location of the strategic criminal: located at the foot of the epicenter of the Roman Empire, in front of the Forum – the center of public life – is a transparent symbol of caution of Rome’s implacable justice in the face of its enemies.
“It’s not a crime for petty thieves,” Father D’Orazio says. “It is a crime for the most important enemies of the State. They were looking for other people to see that these criminals were being tortured and sentenced to death.
Among the many ancient figures sentenced to death by starvation, strangulation or beheading in Mamertinus prison, several mention: Jugurtha, king of Numidia, and the Gallic leader Vercingetorix, publicly executed by strangulation in 104 BC. and 46 B. C. , respectively. Pope Sixtus II and St. Lawrence are also said to have been imprisoned there.
The prison is made up of two floors on top of each other: the upper point is known as Carcer, while the lower point is Tullianum.
“There is no front or exit from the relegation zone,” explains Father D’Orazio, pointing to a hole in the ground of the Carcer. “There is only one hole in the ground where prisoners were thrown” to starve to death or to await execution.
According to tradition, Mamertine is also the place where the apostles Peter and Paul were imprisoned. The Tullianum is believed to be the place where Saints Peter and Paul were imprisoned until their respective martyrdoms, due to the gravity of their “crime”: refusing to attribute absolute force and divinity to the Roman Emperor Nero.
It is probably this criminal that Paul refers to in his second letter to Timothy, when he suggested to Timothy that he stop at it soon: “Do all you can to get there before winter” (2 Timothy 4:21).
In fact, although St. Paul is believed to have written his letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, his first Roman imprisonment was during the reign of Nero (according to tradition, Paul was imprisoned in his own space under space arrest for two years during Nero’s reign). his first imprisonment), he is supposed to have written his second letter to Timothy during his second imprisonment in Rome, some time before his martyrdom. For example, St. Paul writes, “Therefore do not be ashamed to testify of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner” (2 Timothy 1:8).
In addition to the writings of some of the early saints, such as St. Peter of Alexandria, the main evidence that St. Peter was also imprisoned in the Tullianum, along with St. Paul, is discovered in one of the earliest apocryphal acts of the apostles in Christianity, the “Acts of Peter,” which date back to the last century A. D.
In addition, the frescoes of the criminal and the Histories of the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (XXVIII, 1, 57) of the fourth century associate them with the veneration of Peter and Paul in the first centuries after Christ’s death.
“This is where Saints Peter and Paul would have been chained,” Father John said, pointing to a corner of the Tullianum.
To this day, the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls houses the relics of St. Paul’s chains, and St. Peter Chained Basilica houses those of St. Peter.
Despite the harshness of the apostles’ imprisonment, the apocryphal “Acts of Peter” “recount miraculous occasions surrounding their martyrdom, as symptoms of God’s blessings and mercy toward them in this time of conflict. “
“For example,” says Father D’Orazio, “Peter was able to bear witness to the Gospel here too, in the criminal of Mamertine, with the same guards who watched him. He was able to speak to them of the gospel, and they listened. “They welcomed the message of the Gospel into their hearts and desired to be baptized. ”
“But there was no water to baptize them,” Father Jean continues. “Then Peter miraculously caused water to gush out and used this water to baptize them. These criminal guards, Process and Martinian, consider themselves martyrs of the Gospel.
After their baptism, the two guardians (now mentioned in the Roman martyrology) were arrested, tortured, and beheaded on Nero’s orders.
“Peter and Paul showed wonderful courage,” Father D’Orazio said. “They embraced the cross, and not only individually, but in combination. Peter and Paul, who had very different personalities, other approaches, other charisms, had a wonderful respect for each other and ended up sharing together the experience of martyrdom here in Rome.
After his imprisonment, culture says that St. Peter was crucified upside down in Nero’s Circus on Vatican Hill, where the obelisk “The Witness” stands today.
St. Paul is said to have been beheaded on the outskirts of Rome, at Aquas Salvias, where his severed head is said to have bounced 3 times, miraculously giving rise to a spring of water every time it touched the ground. the position earned the name of San Paolo alle Tre Fontane, which means “Saint Peter”. Paul at the Three Fountains.
Over time, the Mamertine prison, used until the fourth century, “became a place of Christian worship,” Father D’Orazio explains, “on a par with the Colosseum and other places of Christian martyrdom in Rome. “
Whether or not the Mamertine prison is the actual location of the Saints. Peter and Paul’s imprisonment, their lives and deaths, are a testimony of persevering faith.
Reflecting on how “the Gospel invites us to live according to the truth” and how “living a Christian life means being able to protect what is true and just,” Fr. D’Orazio explained:
“The story of the martyrs is one of wonderful courage and ability to protect the deed, even if one’s life is wasted. The fact of the Gospel is certainly more valuable than the gift of life itself, which is one of the most valuable gifts. that God has given us. “
“Martyrdom is also a gesture of love,” Father D’Orazio continued, because it is an act “of giving one’s life for God and for one’s neighbor. “
“Just off the seafront is the ‘Holy Street,'” the priest added, “where the Roman emperors entered Rome after winning a wonderful war to be crowned with a laurel wreath as a sign of their triumph. ”
“The same applies to the martyrs we can see here,” Father D’Orazio said, pointing to a mural depicting Saints Peter and Paul the Carcer. Thus Peter and Paul won their crowns of glory after giving their lives for the gospel. “
Bénédicte Cedergren is an associate manufacturer for EWTN News Nightly. After graduating in journalism at Stockholm University, Benedicta moved to Rome, where she earned a degree in philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Petersburg. Thomas Aquinas. She also sings sacred music and works as a photographer. Passionate about spreading the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith, Bénédicte loves to share the testimonies of others and write captivating and inspiring stories.
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