The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret

by John O'Neill

Overview

A Texas oilman. A brilliant female archaeologist. An unknown world underneath the Vatican.

In 1939, a team of workers beneath the Vatican unearthed an early Christian grave. This surprising discovery launched a secret quest that would last decades — a quest to discover the long-lost burial place of the Apostle Peter.

From earliest times, Christian tradition held that Peter — a lowly fisherman from Galilee, whom Christ made leader of his Church — was executed in Rome by Emperor Nero and buried on Vatican Hill. But his tomb had been lost to history. Now, funded anonymously by a wealthy American, a small army of workers embarked on the dig of a lifetime.

The incredible, sometimes shocking, story of the 75-year search and its key players has never been fully told — until now. The quest would pit one of the 20th century’s most talented archaeologists — a woman — against top Vatican insiders. The Fisherman’s Tomb is a story of the triumph of faith and genius against all odds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681921402
Publisher:	Our Sunday Visitor, Publishing Division
Publication date:	03/26/2018
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	61,641
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

John O’Neill is a lawyer and #1 New York Times bestselling author. He has spent much of his life visiting and researching early Christian sites. He is a 1967 graduate of the Naval Academy, a former law clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, and senior partner at a large international law firm.

Table of Contents

Foreword 15

Chapter 1 The Visit 19

Chapter 2 George Strake 27

Chapter 3 Peter 37

Chapter 4 The Great Fire of Rome 41

Chapter 5 Vatican Hill 45

Chapter 6 Pius's Gamble 55

Chapter 7 Pope Pius XII and His Team 59

Chapter 8 The Clues in the Vatican Library 67

Chapter 9 Into the City of the Dead 73

Chapter 10 Inside the Tomb 79

Chapter 11 The Three Amigos 87

Chapter 12 Twelve The War 91

Chapter 13 The Flood and the Curse 103

Chapter 14 Margherita Guarducci 111

Chapter 15 The Inscriptions Speak 123

Chapter 16 The Bones Speak 129

Chapter 17 Ferrua's Revenge 133

Chapter 18 The Necropolis Uncovered 139

Chapter 19 Guarducci Alone: A New Beginning 145

Chapter 20 Return of the Apostle 155

Chapter 21 The Great Persecution and Helena 159

Afterword 165

Appendices 171

I The Inscriptions

II The Conroe Oil Field

III The Story of Vatican Hill

IV Timeline

V The Hottest Ticket in Rome

Notes and Acknowledgments 185