A special "Pauline" jubilee year will be held from June 28th to June 29th 2009 to celebrate the Apostle Paul on the 2000th anniversary of his birth. It was officially announced today by Benedict XVI, during the celebration of the First Vespers of the Feast of Saint Peter and Paul in the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura, in Rome. This "Pauline Year", he explained, "will have its privileged venue in Rome", where the sarcophagus with the remains of the Apostle has been kept for twenty centuries, under the Pope’s altar in the Basilica of Saint Paul’s. Liturgical, cultural and ecumenical events, pastoral and social campaigns inspired by Paul’s spirituality will be held in the Basilica and in the adjoining Benedictine Abbey. Special attention will be paid to pilgrimages, while "across the world similar initiatives can be carried out in the Dioceses, the Sanctuaries, the places of worship, by religious, cultural or charitable institutions that take their name from Saint Paul or take inspiration from him or his lessons". Then Benedict XVI asked to take care of the "ecumenical dimension", since "the Apostle of people, specially devoted to taking the Gospel to all peoples, worked so hard for the unity and the agreement of all Christians".
