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From The Times
November 29, 2004

On This Day - November 29, 1969

St Peter’s throne is one of the Catholic Church’s most precious relics. In 1969 a commission ordered by the Pope found that the throne could not have been used by St Peter

ST PETER’S throne, one of the Roman Catholic Church’s most precious relics, could not in fact have been used by St Peter, according to a commission appointed by the Pope. It has decided that the throne dates to Charles the Bald in AD875 and came to be known as St Peter’s throne only through the accident of historical usage.

The finding has left the Pope with a perplexing problem.Should the chair be returned to the ornate bronze case in which it was set as a holy relic by the sculpture Bernini in the 17th century? Or should it be relegated to a place in the Vatican museum as a secular curiosity?

The simple wooden throne was slipped out of its bronze casing a year ago after suspicions had been raised about its authenticity. For 700 years it had been identified as a chair in which St Peter sat when in Rome. It was put under intense study by the commission of scholars, scientists and engineers.

They concluded, after carbon 14 and other radiological tests, that the tradition of its origin must be attributed to its usage by popes since the 12th century at major ceremonies.

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