{"product_id":"st-peters-bones-how-the-relics-of-the-first-pope-were-lost-and-found-and-then-lost-and-found-again-9780307985095","title":"St. Peter's Bones: How the Relics of the First Pope Were Lost and Found... and Then Lost and Found Again","description":"In this fascinating account of the search for the remains of the world's first pope, none other than Peter, the chief apostle of Jesus, Thomas J. Craughwell takes us on one of the most exciting archaeological finds of the twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e In 1448 a team of architects and engineers brought Pope Nicholas V unhappy news: the 1,100-year-old Basilica of St. Peter suffered from so many structural defects that it was beyond repair. The only solution was to pull down the old church--one of the most venerable churches in all of Christiandom--and erect a new basilica on the site. Incredibly, one of the tombs the builders paved over was the resting place of St. Peter.\u003cbr\u003e Then in 1939, while reconstructing the grottoes below St. Peter's Basilica, a workman's shovel struck not dirt or rock but open air. After inspecting what could be seen through the hole they'd made in the mausoleum's roof, Pope Pius XII secretly authorized a full-scale excavation. What lay beneath? The answer and the adventure await. In this riveting history, facts, traditions, and faith collide to reveal the investigation, betrayals, and mystery behind St. Peter's burial place.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHOMAS J. CRAUGHWELL was the author of \u003ci\u003eSaints Behaving Badly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eUrban Legends\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAlligators in the Sewer\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eand 222 Other Urban Legends\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSaints for Every Occasion: 101 of Heaven's Most Powerful Patrons\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies?\u003c\/i\u003e He wrote about saints for the the\u003ci\u003e Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSt. Anthony Messenger\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Catholic Digest\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand discussed saints on CNN and EWTN. His book \u003ci\u003eStealing Lincoln's Body\u003c\/i\u003e was made into a two-hour documentary on the History Channel. He passed away in 2018.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Random House Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50923944640786,"sku":"9780307985095","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9bc69b87-d053-4ff5-b4b8-82415b2b1fdd.jpg?v=1738966044","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/st-peters-bones-how-the-relics-of-the-first-pope-were-lost-and-found-and-then-lost-and-found-again-9780307985095","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}