During restoration work at the catacombs of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius) in Naples, a 1,400-year-old fresco was discovered by experts from the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Art.
The details of this discovery were disclosed in the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, on the feast day of St Peter and St Paul. The feast day is traditionally a bank holiday in Rome.
The Vatican has released a photograph showing St Paul, famous for his conversion from Judaism to Christianity, with a long neck, a beard and large eyes that give his face a “spiritual air.”
“The image of St Paul has an intense expression, philosophical and its discovery enriches our image of one of the principal apostles,” Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi wrote in ‘L’Osservatore Romano.
The apostle is shown approaching a dead person dressed in white and beige robes with the letter ‘I’ on the hem. The letter is thought to stand for ‘Iesus’, which is Latin for Jesus.
The director of the catacombs in Naples, Father Antonio Loffredo, said: “We hope that many locals and tourists will come and look at this fresco, which has been wonderfully restored.”
Another fresco of St Paul was found last year in another Catacomb in Rome. The fresco was dated to the 4th century AD and is believed to be the oldest image of him in existence.
St Paul spent most of his life travelling and preaching after converting to Christianity, despite not knowing Jesus in life. His conversion to Christianity occurred after seeing a shining light on the road to Damascus.
