Vatican · Year of Saint Paul

Paul of Tarsus (Paulus von Tarsus) was one of the formative figures of early Christianity. He came from a Jewish family and was originally called Saul. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he also possessed Roman citizenship. Initially, he opposed the emerging Christian movement and was involved in the persecution of its followers. The experience on the road to Damascus led to a fundamental reorientation: Saul understood the apparition as an encounter with the risen Jesus and subsequently received Christian baptism.

The Acts of the Apostles reports that Paul fell to the ground after the light phenomenon and was temporarily blinded. In Damascus, the Christian Ananias was instructed to seek him out; afterwards, Paul regained his sight and was baptized. A horse is not mentioned in the biblical accounts. It belongs to a later pictorial tradition that made the event particularly vivid in European art. Paul himself also mentions his calling in his letters, but describes it there much more briefly.

In the following decades, Paul worked as a missionary, especially among non-Jews. His travels took him through parts of Asia Minor and Greece. His letters to early Christian communities are among the oldest texts of the New Testament. In them, he addresses, among other things, the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the relationship between Jewish law and Christian faith, and the coexistence of different groups within the communities. According to church tradition, Paul died as a martyr in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero.

Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the Year of Saint Paul (Paulusjahr) on the occasion of the apostle’s approximately two-thousandth birthday; his year of birth cannot be determined precisely. It lasted from 28 June 2008 to 29 June 2009. The focus was on religious services, pilgrimages, and engagement with the Pauline letters. A central location was the Roman Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (Sankt Paul vor den Mauern), which, according to church tradition, was built over his grave. The coin issue thus commemorated a church year of remembrance observed worldwide by the Vatican.