An Encounter in Mainz: The Proof of a Google Search, Part IV







Images: One of the Roman sarcophagi that Ignatius told me was in the cemetary. The other images are of the Roman theatre in Mainz.Images taken by myself.

After a time, I walked away from the graves, but Ignatius kept talking to me. He described how the town used to look and the places he used to go. My next stop was the ancient Roman theater just up the road. I paused, again feeling the weight of my doubt, and pulled out my phone. On a whim, I googled the name "Ignatius."

Incredibly, it was a Roman name. What’s more, it was a name that did not appear until the first century A.D.—the same century the graveyard was built.

This shook me. Perhaps there is something to this, I wondered. Now curious and less self-conscious, I allowed him to speak as I had promised. As I stood in the theater, I felt him tell me that he had attended shows there semi-frequently. I initially pushed the thought out, assuming it was my own bias, but the spirit corrected me, confirming I had heard correctly. He admitted he had done things in that theater he regretted, though he did not specify what they were.

Later, as I visited the city cemetery, Ignatius prompted me that Romans were also buried here. I was leery and almost dismissed it, as the cemetery gave no obvious signs of being that old. But as I looked around, I discovered two more Roman sarcophagi hidden behind some other graves, covered in ivy. There were no signs, no fanfare. The prompting from a man who died two thousand years ago had turned out to be true.

The validation was undeniable, but the encounter wasn't over. The final part of the story, with Ignatius's last, desperate plea, is coming soon. Follow the blog to read the conclusion.

Location: 55 Mainz, Germany

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