[Update Note: The story comes from “World News Daily” which seems to spoof “World Net Daily.” It’s a hoax site.]

Hat tip to Brian Godawa for alerting me to this story. The article leads as follows:

An Italian expert studying a first century document written by the Roman historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus that was recently discovered in the archives of the Vatican, found what is presumed to be the first eyewitness account ever recorded of a miracle of Jesus Christ. The author describes a scene that he allegedly witnessed, in which a prophet and teacher that he names Iēsous de Nazarenus, resuscitated a stillborn boy and handed him back to his mother.

I’m not familiar with the “historian and archivist” who made the discovery, Ignazio Perucci. The article notes he was hired by the Vatican “to sort, analyze and classify some 6,000 ancient documents that had been uncovered in the gigantic archive vaults.” It’s about time — and good luck!

The article notes:

This new text from an author known for his reliability, brings a brand new perspective on the life of the historical character that is Jesus of Nazareth. It comes to confirm the Gospels on the facts that he was known for accomplishing miracles and that his sheer presence in a town was enough to attract crowds of people.

If this is legit, it would be a stunning find. Hopefully the text will receive wide attention and peer review so that a consensus can be reached. Proper investigation needs to follow, just as was the case with the bogus “Jesus’ wife” fragment.