Salt + Light Media Menu
Salt + Light Media Home
Magnifying Glass
coverPhoto
Premium content

Asset title

Asset description

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday: The Fisherman's Tomb

Allyson Kenny

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

CNS/ Paul Haring
Most of the Salt+Light staff are major bookworms, and it shows. Chats about the latest Catholic releases happen regularly on the SLHour radio show, and our network has its very own book show, Subject Matters.  So while Subject Matters is off the air for 2018 - as the team is busy working on our latest documentary, The Francis Impact (check out the trailer released yesterday) - I want to share with our readers the newest books I'm enjoying in this weekly blog series.

The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search by John O'Neill

The Fisherman's Tomb (Our Sunday Visitor, 2018) was the #1 Catholic book on Amazon when I read it last week.  It tells the story of the search for the tomb of St. Peter underneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The story behind the book's genesis is almost as fascinating as its subject matter. Author John O'Neill didn't intend to write another book after his last one in 2004.  Then, he was diagnosed with four different types of cancer, in four locations - throat, back, head, and legs - and contracted the dreaded MRSA bacterial infection. His chance of survival was just five percent. Praying that he would recover, he resolved that if he lived, he would write a book about a story only he could tell, one revealed to him through his friendship with a Texas oil family that kept an astonishing, secret tie to the Vatican, first forged by Pope Pius XII.  The Fisherman's Tomb is the result of O'Neill's answered prayer.
In 1939, a team of workers began excavating beneath St. Peter's Basilica to make way for the recently-deceased Pope Pius XI's tomb. Digging down, a workman fell through the floor, landing on first- and second-century Christian and Roman graves. This precious discovery launched a quest shrouded in secrecy that lasted seventy-four years, culminating in 2013 with Pope Francis' public veneration of relics from the excavation.
The central story of the search for the "real" tomb of St. Peter has many intriguing aspects, each of which would make a fascinating story on its own: the vital role of the project's financing via a "blank cheque" from a devout American businessman; the clash of personality between the head of excavation and the brilliant epigraphist Margherita Guarducci; and the role of three priests - whom O'Neill refers to as "the three Amigos" - who were vital to the Holy See's clandestine efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust and mitigate the devastation of World War II.
This is the right kind of summer read for history-loving Vaticanistas or those planning a trip to Rome - light and easy to take in, with lots of adventure.  It's definitely not a book for someone looking for a highly scholarly tome or lengthy treatment of its subject matter.  Though at times it can be overly repetitive and certain elements of the story feel rushed (while others are too drawn out), for the general reader it makes a good introduction to the history of St. Peter's Basilica and the scavi that lie below.
 
Up next week: One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler
 


Related Articles:

Tag: Diplomatic Corps

Address of Pope Leo XIV to Members of the Diplomatic Corps

Friday, May 16, 2025

Pope Leo XIV

On Wednesday, May 16, 2025, Pope Leo XIV addressed members of the Holy See's diplomatic corps, focusing on the pillars of peace, justice, and truth.

Pope Francis Addresses Members of the Diplomatic Corps

Monday, January 7, 2019

Salt + Light Media

Read the full text of Pope Francis' words on multilateral diplomacy addressed to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See.

Pope Francis in Ireland: Meeting with state and civil authorities

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Salt + Light Media

Read the full text of Pope Francis' address to state and civil authorities and members of the diplomatic corps at the Dublin Castle in Ireland.

Pope Francis’ Speech at the Meeting with Civil Authorities of Chile: Full Text

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Salt + Light Media

Madam President, Members of the Government of the Republic and of the Diplomatic Corps, Representatives of Civil Society, Distinguished Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a joy for me to stand once again on Latin American soil and begin this visit to Chile, this land so close to my heart, which welcomed and schooled me in […]

Pope Francis’ Address to Diplomatic Corps: Full Text

Monday, January 8, 2018

Salt + Light Media

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Our meeting today is a welcome tradition that allows me, in the enduring joy of the Christmas season, to offer you my personal best wishes for the New Year just begun, and to express my closeness and affection to the peoples you represent. I thank the Dean of the Diplomatic […]

SUPPORT LABEL

Receive our newsletters
Stay Connected
Receive our newsletters
Stay Connected
Copyright © 2025 Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
Registered Charity # 88523 6000 RR0001
FR | CH