Advertisement ICNICN Would you like to advertise on ICN? Click to learn more.

Scientists confirm tomb of St Luke probably genuine


Natives of Padua, in north east Italy, have a special reason to celebrate today's feast of St Luke, as new scientific evidence indicates that the remains of a man buried at a church in the town are likely to be those of the great evangelist. For centuries, the church of Santa Giustina in Padua has claimed to be the last resting place of the author of the Third Gospels. Now, DNA tests on the teeth of the skeleton, conducted by Guido Barbujani, from the University of Ferrara, show that the man was probably born in Syria, the birthplace of St Luke. Historians believe St Luke was born in Antioch in Syria about AD70, and died in the Greek city of Thebes 84 years later. His body was supposed to have been moved to Constantinople, now Istanbul, in Turkey, before being taken to Padua around 1177. However, scholars have wondered whether the body in Padua was of a Greek man who died at about the time as Luke. This would not have been an unusual fraud, in a time when there was a thriving trade in saintly relics. Dr Barbujani's team concluded that the body was three times more likely to be of Syrian origin than Greek and was likely to be that of St Luke.

Adverts

Little Flower

We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information.

We Need Your Support

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN.

Mobile Menu Toggle Icon