This Thursday, June 29th, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, who, according to Pope Francis, “were real people, and today more than ever, we need real people,” he expressed in his words before the Angelus.
Here are five key points to understand why they are celebrated on the same date:
1) They are the founders of the Church in Rome:
Jesus said, “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church.” With these words, Simon Peter became “the rock” of the Church and committed to shepherding God’s flock despite his human weaknesses.
After the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, Peter humbly assumed the role of the head of the Church. He guided the apostles and ensured the disciples kept their true faith alive.
Paul, previously known as Saul of Tarsus, underwent a conversion experience. After encountering Christ, he continued to Damascus, where he was baptized and regained sight. He is recognized as the apostle to the Gentiles and spent the rest of his life tirelessly preaching the Gospel to the nations around the Mediterranean Sea.
“When he felt death approaching, he wrote to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim 4:7). This was certainly not the battle of a military commander but that of a herald of the Word of God, faithful to Christ and to his Church, to which he gave himself completely. And that is why the Lord gave him the crown of glory and placed him, together with Peter, as a pillar in the spiritual edifice of the Church,” expressed Benedict XVI in 2012.
2) They are the spiritual pillars of the Church
In 2015, Pope Francis stated that Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and the Virgin Mary “are our travel companions on the quest for God. They are our guides on the path of faith and holiness. They direct us to Jesus, urging us to do everything He asks of us.” The Holy Father emphasized that “the glorious legacy of these two Apostles is a source of spiritual pride for Rome and, at the same time, it is a call to live the Christian virtues, especially faith and charity: faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God, which Peter first professed and Paul proclaimed to the Gentiles; and charity, which this Church is called to serve with a universal horizon.”
3) Both suffered in Rome
Saint Peter and Saint Paul were arrested and martyred in the Mamertine Prison, also known as the Tullianum, in the Roman Forum in ancient Rome. Saint Peter spent his final years in Rome, leading the Church during persecution until his martyrdom in the year 64. He was crucified upside down by his request, considering himself unworthy to die in the same manner as his Lord. He was buried on Vatican Hill, and the Basilica of Saint Peter was built upon his tomb.
Saint Paul was beheaded in the year 67. He is buried in Rome, in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
4) They are patrons of Rome and representatives of the Gospel
In the 2012 homily for the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Benedict XVI referred to these two apostles as the “principal Patrons of the Church of Rome.” He stated, “Christian tradition has always considered Saint Peter and Saint Paul to be inseparable: indeed, together, they represent the whole Gospel of Christ.”
5) They are the opposite version of Cain and Abel
Benedict XVI pointed out that “the first biblical pair of brothers demonstrate the effects of sin, as Cain kills Abel, yet Peter and Paul, much as they differ from one another in human terms and notwithstanding the conflicts that arose in their relationship, illustrate a new way of being brothers, lived according to the Gospel, an authentic way made possible by the grace of Christ’s Gospel working within them.”
