Several popes and bishops were buried in the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, one of the first communal cemeteries in Rome which developed into the largest and most richly decorated. The area where nine popes were laid to rest is popularly nicknamed “the little Vatican.”
It was rediscovered in 1849 by an archaeologist. The sensational find prompted Pope Pius IX to visit in 1854. He is believed to be the first pontiff to enter the catacombs’ galleries in over one thousand years. Pius IX was deeply moved, and was heard to murmur in awe: “Are these the tombstones of my predecessors?”
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