Conversion of St. Paul situated in first church pilgrims encounter on way to Rome

The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls is built on top of the burial site of St. Paul in Rome. For Christians, it is an essential stop on the pilgrimage route in Rome. The city of Rome considers both St. Peter and St. Paul as their patrons. Tradition asserts that they were both martyred on the same day. 

In Acts 23, Paul was arrested and held in Caesarea where he petitioned Caesar for his case. As a Roman citizen, he could appeal his case to Caesar, but this meant he had to go to Caesar who lived in Rome. Paul was taken to Rome and eventually was convicted and condemned to death. He was taken outside of the city walls and beheaded (thus the name of the Basilica). Paul’s followers originally built a simple memorial on the site of his burial.   

Constantine ordered a church to be built on the site, which was consecrated in 324 AD. In the following years, the church grew even larger and was declared a major basilica. Through the centuries, fires and earthquakes have destroyed parts of the church but it was always rebuilt, bigger and more glorious. The last fire was in 1823, which destroyed the roof and much of the interior. It was rebuilt again and that is the church we see today. The basilica is known for its beautiful mosaics in the apse and on the façade. They shine the brightest on the facade in the late afternoon when the sun is directly on them making them glisten. 

The painting shown is the conversion of St. Paul by Caravaggio. It is found in the same chapel as the crucifixion of St. Peter, Santa Maris del Popolo in Rome (see March 2025 New Earth issue). Caravaggio decided to focus on the conversion of St. Paul instead of his martyrdom, therefore showing the physical death of St. Peter and the spiritual death of St. Paul. We read in Acts 9 how a bright light suddenly flashed around Saul as he fell to the ground; the horse is not actually in scripture but does give a dramatic effect. He heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Caravaggio freezes time so we can glimpse what is now being internalized in the soul of Saul.   

We see a young Saul down on the ground with his arms outstretched basking in a pool of light.  His face is glowing but peaceful at this divine intervention. It is the moment of conversion for Saul, whose name will now change to Paul. This is echoed by the outstretched hand of St. Peter upon his physical death in the painting across the same chapel. 

Santa Maria del Popolo church was one of the principal pilgrimage churches of Rome, situated on the northernmost edge of the city. It was the first church pilgrims would encounter on the way to the basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul. It was fitting that pilgrims would first gaze upon the transforming scenes of these two great saints before heading to venerate their relics at the basilicas.