Rome's Oldest Maximum-Security Prison

Hidden below the church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters, among the ruins of Ancient Rome, lies the city’s oldest maximum-security prison: the Mamertine prison. Situated at the foot of the epicenter of the Roman empire, in front of the Forum Romanum — the center of public life — it was a clear warning symbol of Rome's unappeasable justice against its enemies.

Fr. John D’Orazio of the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, which cares for the faithful by organizing pilgrimages for the Diocese of Rome, explains, “The enemies of the state of ancient Rome were kept in this prison. It wasn't a prison for petty thieves. It was the prison for the enemies of the state, for the most important people. They wanted people to see that these people were being tortured here and they were being sentenced to death.”

Among the many historical figures condemned to death by starvation, strangulation, or beheading in the Mamertine Prison, several deserve to be mentioned: Jugurtha, king of Numidia, and Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix, both publicly executed by strangulation in 104 and 46 BC, respectively.

Saints Peter and Paul's Imprisonment

Accused of treason for refusing to ascribe absolute power and divinity to the Roman emperor Nero, it is also believed that this is the prison where Saints Peter and Paul were held in captivity before their martyrdom. Despite the harsh conditions of their imprisonment, Christian tradition recounts a miraculous event said to have occurred in the deepest level of the prison, “as a sign of God's blessing and mercy to the martyrs in a time of strife.”

Fr. John explains, “Peter was able to give witness to the Gospel even here in the Mamertine prison, to his own prison guards who were watching over him. He was able to tell them about the gospel, and they listened to his words, and they welcomed the message of the Gospel into their hearts. And they wanted to be baptized but there was no water with which to baptize them. So, Peter would have had water spring forth miraculously, and he was able to use that water to baptize them. These prison guards, their names are Processus and Martinianus. And so, they themselves became martyrs of the Gospel.”

Following their baptism, the two warders were then arrested, tortured, and beheaded by order of the emperor Nero. Without exception, the two apostles met a similar fate.

After their imprisonment, tradition holds that St. Peter was crucified upside down in Nero’s circus on the Vatican Hill — where the obelisk called “the Witness” stands today.

St. Paul is said to have been decapitated, as Rome did not allow its citizens to be crucified. His severed head allegedly bounced three times, miraculously giving rise to a source of water each time it touched the ground. This is how the place earned the name “San Paolo alle Tre Fontane,” meaning “St. Paul at the Three Fountains.”

“Peter and Paul showed great courage with their martyrdom: embracing the cross, embracing the cross in their lives, and not only in an individual manner, but together,” Fr. John notes. “Peter and Paul, who had very different personalities, different approaches, different charisms, still had a great respect for one another and wound up sharing together the experience of martyrdom here in Rome.”

Whether or not the Mamertine Prison was the actual place of Saints Peter and Paul’s imprisonment, their lives and deaths are without a doubt a testimony to persevering faith.

Legacy of Courage and Faith

“The martyrs,” Fr. John concludes, “give us an example of great courage and standing up for what is right and just. Martyrdom is a gesture of great love. ‘Peter, do you love me? Are you ready to give your life for me?’ So, martyrdom is a story not only of standing up for what is True, but also of great love, of giving one's life over for God and for neighbor.”

Adapted by Jacob Stein

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