Rome, Italy
Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls
Built over the tomb of the Apostle Paul, the second largest church in Rome after St. Peter's.
You arrive expecting something ancient and what greets you is unexpectedly bright. A devastating fire in 1823 destroyed most of the original basilica, and what stands now is the nineteenth-century rebuild — cleaner lines, polished marble, a luminous interior flooded with light from the alabaster windows. But the proportions are old. The nave is imperial in scale, framed by eighty granite columns, and it still follows the footprint of the fourth-century original. What stops you is the portrait medallions. Circling the entire interior, near the ceiling, are mosaic roundels of every pope from St. Peter to the present — rows and rows of faces looking down at you. Beneath the main altar, a marble slab bears the inscription PAULO APOSTOLO MART, and through a small window below you can glimpse the sarcophagus. The cloisters here are among the finest in Italy, with double columns inlaid with colored glass and gold.
Diocese: Diocese of Rome
Style: Neoclassical (rebuilt 1823-1854)
What to See
Start by looking up at the papal portrait medallions — they circle the entire basilica and include blank roundels for future popes, which gives you something to think about. The confessio beneath the altar lets you peer down at the sarcophagus of St. Paul through a small window. The fifth-century triumphal arch mosaic survived the fire and shows Christ flanked by angels and the twenty-four elders of Revelation. The cloisters require a small fee but are spectacular — the twisted double columns inlaid with mosaic bits catch the light beautifully.
Pilgrim Notes
The basilica sits outside the old city walls along Via Ostiense, easily reached by the Basilica San Paolo Metro stop on Line B. It's less visited than the other papal basilicas, which means you often have space to sit and pray without crowds. Mass is celebrated daily. The Benedictine monks who care for the basilica run a small shop with honey, beer, and other monastic products. This is one of the four churches required for the traditional jubilee pilgrimage in Holy Year.