Clementine Chapel
The Clementine Chapel also known as La Clementina is a particular enclosed Roman Catholic chapel located within the underground necropolitan grottoes of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It is the area where the relics of St. Peter were venerated in early Christian, Constantinian, and early medieval times, before his skull was removed to be housed at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
Open today for pilgrims, the site venerates the original pavonazzo marble chest placed there by Emperor Constantine which contained the bones believed to belong to Saint Peter. The chest no longer contains bones, but it is still considered by Catholic pilgrims to be the holiest part of the archeological basilica.
History
The altar structure of the chapel was formally consecrated in 1123 by Pope Callixtus II. The chapel is named in honor of Pope Clement VIII, who used the chapel as his burial place and donated funds to install various religious mosaics that have been preserved to this day.
It is one of the two main untouched areas of Old St. Peter's Basilica, along with the chapel of the Niche of the Pallia.
A notable feature of the chapel are the ornate bronze sculptures located in the chapel commemorating certain biblical scenes, along with its gilded cage in the central altar.
According to a direct tour and interview granted to History Channel by the Archpriest of the Basilica, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the chapel is the holiest site in the basilica, and the prime reason why the basilica was constructed in the first place.
The chapel itself is directly behind the present niche which houses and displays the bones of Saint Peter, thereby the site correlates to the present high altar of St. Peter's Basilica today.
The niche where the Bones of St. Peter are presently housed is not in the Clementine chapel, but a separate chapel directly below the high altar called the niche of the pallia.
The clementine chapel was constructed to venerate the skull of Saint Peter, after the original Constantinian monument was obscured due to the high altar being raised in order to allow for a larger space for papal functions.
The bones belived to be that of St. Peter are not contained in the original stone chest venerated in the clementine chapel, but are held in the chapel of the niche of the pallia, which is directly below the high altar and which is off-limits to the touring public, while the clementine chapel remains open to visitors.