Includes bibliographical references (pages 123-126).

A note on the cult of relics -- An elderly but powerful man -- Search for the name Peter -- The catacombs -- Papal prudence -- Monsignor Kaas : box of bones -- Painful facts -- Archeology isn't algebra -- Epilogue -- Appendix A : List of symbols -- Appendix B : What about St. Paul's bones?

"In 1448 a team of architects and engineers brought Pope Nicholas V unhappy news: the 1100-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 Christendom--and erect a new basilica on the site. Incredibly, one of the tombs the builders paved over was the resting place of St. Peter. Then in 1939, while working underground in the Vatican, one workman's shovel struck not dirt or rock but open air. The diggers shone a flashlight through the opening and saw a portion of an ancient Christian mausoleum. An archaeologist was summoned at once, and after inspecting what could be seen through the hole the diggers had made in the mausoleum's roof, he authorized a full-scale excavation. What lay beneath? The answer and the adventure await"--