For the first time, devout Catholics may soon be able to get a glimpse of St. Peter before they reach the Pearly Gates.
The remains of Peter, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, will be put on display for the public, the Vatican announced Monday.
Discovered in the 1940s and never officially declared authentic, the bones will be exhibited in St. Peter’s tomb, a structure beneath St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Peter, recognized as the first Pope in the Catholic faith, is traditionally believed to have been crucified upside down for his faith on that spot in 64 or 67 C.E., Religion News Service reports.
The display will mark the end of the Year of Faith, which began by papal declaration on October 11, 2012, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council that transformed the Catholic church.