Fr. Paul Lawlor, OP

Fr. Paul Lawlor, O.P., is an Irish priest and archaeologist who is one of the foremost living experts on Basilica San Clemente in Rome. Having participated in its excavations, Fr. Lawlor’s work contributed to the discovery of the 6th-century sacristy and baptistry of the Lower Basilica, which profoundly reshaped scholarly understanding of early Christian liturgy and church architecture. Today, as Rector, he oversees an ambitious program of restoration and conservation that continues to reveal the Basilica’s layered history—from the ancient Roman domus and Mithraeum to the medieval frescoes.

Fr. Paul is a native of Tralee, Ireland and a graduate of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology in Rome. Previously Fr. Lawlor taught Christian Archaeology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum). He also collaborated on archaeological missions with the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem and spent several years serving as pastor of the English-speaking parish in Tehran, Iran.

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