Case file · Apparition / miracle

Saint Paul's shipwreck and the viper

Acts of the Apostles (ch. 28) says Paul was shipwrecked on Malta around AD 60, shook off a viper unharmed and healed the father of the governor Publius. St Paul's Islands mark the traditional spot.

60 CE · 35.97, 14.40 · status: legend

The sceptical view

Malta has no venomous snakes today; scholars debate whether the wreck happened on Malta at all.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: St. Paul's Islands
  2. Wikipedia: Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck (feast of 10 February)
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