“As a student and professor of the Bible, I have come to love the study of archaeology.… The Fisherman’s Tomb tells the story of the discovery of the tomb and bones of St. Peter under St. Peter’s Basilica, combining risky excavations, oil discoveries and cataclysmic explosions in Texas, the intrigues and adventures of World War II, petty jealousy among Vatican apparatchiks, scholarly diligence and carelessness, amazing heroism — plus, above all, confirmation of the truth that Jesus made Peter the rock upon which he built his Church. What a cool book!”
— Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J., founder and president of Ignatius Productions, EWTN host, biblical scholar, author, and speaker
“The Fisherman’s Tomb is a gripping archeological detective story stretching back two thousand years, a true tale of religious veneration, papal risk-taking, and scholarly feuds. It’s all told in fascinating and well-documented detail by John O’Neill, who reveals a behind-the-scenes American connection to the excavations that brought Saint Peter’s bones to light.”
— John Thavis, New York Times best-selling author of The Vatican Diaries and The Vatican Prophecies
“This is one of Christianity’s many great stories of faith, hope, and trust. It’s drama and adventure and Providence, and John O’Neill here gives it the kind of loving treatment it deserves, one clearly born of his own dramatic encounter with faith, hope, and trust. Inspired by the witness illuminated in The Fisherman’s Tomb, may every reader grow in these virtues, through Saint Peter’s intercession.”
— Kathryn Jean Lopez, senior fellow at the National Review Institute and editor-at-large, National Review, coauthor of How to Defend the Faith without Raising Your Voice
The Fisherman’s Tomb
The Fisherman’s Tomb
The True Story of the Vatican’s Secret Search
John O’Neill
with Sarah Wynne and Katie Clark
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Huntington, Indiana 46750
Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Our Sunday Visitor in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.
Copyright © 2018 by John O’Neill. Published 2018.
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All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts for critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission from the publisher. For more information, visit: www.osv.com/permissions.
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
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ISBN: 978-1-68192-140-2 (Inventory No. T1863)
eISBN: 978-1-68192-141-9
LCCN: 2017964399
Cover design: Lindsey Riesen
Cover art: Shutterstock
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
About the Author
John O’Neill is a lawyer and a #1 New York Times best-selling 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.
Dedication
To Diane O’Neill, without whom I could never have written this book, and to my brother Peter, whom I also found after long separation.
“I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into.”
J. R. R. TOLKIEN, The Two Towers
Contents
