On the evening of June 28, 2008, during the celebration of the First Vespers of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Pope Benedict XVI officially proclaimed the opening of the Pauline Year, which lasted until June 29, 2009, the feast of these two Apostles. The Eternal City, the Rome of Peter and Paul, bathed in the blood of the martyrs, the center from which so many have come to spread the saving word of Christ throughout the world
