June 29 | Saints Peter & Paul
Saint Peter
Born: c. 1 AD, Bethsaida, Judea (modern-day Golan Heights)
Died: c. 66 AD, Vatican Hill, Rome (modern-day Vatican City)
Nationality: Roman citizen of Jewish ancestry
Vocation: one of the 12 Apostles, the first pope (Bishop of Rome), fisherman, evangelist, epistle writer, early Church leader
Attributes: keys (of heaven), Cross of St. Peter (upside down), papal garments
Patronage: popes/the papacy, fishermen, bakers, butchers, locksmiths, cobblers, various cities including: Rome, St. Petersburg, Russia (which was named in his honor), Philadelphia and Las Vegas, St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican
Canonization: Pre-congregation martyr
Saint Paul
Born: c. 5 AD, Tarsus, Cilicia (modern-day Turkey)
Died: c. 66 AD, Rome
Nationality: Roman citizen of Greek-Jewish ancestry
Vocation: apostle, tentmaker, evangelist, missionary, epistle writer, early Church leader
Attributes: book and pen, sword
Patronage: missionaries, evangelists, writers, theologians, public workers; rope, saddle, and tent makers Gentiles; various locations including: London and Malta
Canonization: Pre-congregation martyr
On June 29 of every year, the Church celebrates together two great holy men who were unquestionably vital to the survival and spread of the Church in the decades following Christ's Passion: St. Peter and St. Paul.
The two saints are arguably two of the best-known among not just Catholics but Christians in general. Various books of the New Testament clearly demonstrate that the men of God not only knew each other well but they worked closely together.
The incredible lives of Saints Peter and Paul held many similarities as well as many differences. Both men were Jewish by birth, both penned multiple epistles or letters that are now part of the New Testament, and both became leaders of the Church in its infancy.
Both were referred to by multiple names. Peter, born Simon, was renamed by Jesus as Cephas (in Aramaic) or Petra (in Greek – from where we get his English name “Peter”), which both mean “rock.” The “rock” is the foundation for Christ’s Church. As a Jewish Roman, Paul was known both by his Jewish name of Saul, (in honor of the first King of Israel, who was also from the Tribe of Benjamin) and his Roman name of Paul (which means “humble”).
Like almost all of the Apostles, both Peter and Paul died as martyrs in Rome, and as tradition holds, both of their deaths occurred in the same year, in the mid-to-late 60s. Finally, both saints are intrinsically connected to the holy city of Rome in other ways. Peter was, of course, the first Bishop of Rome, better known today as the Holy Father or Pope, while Paul wrote the Letter to the Romans, addressed to Peters’ parishioners, which is now often read at Mass.
While the saints were similar on many levels, Peter and Paul’s paths to Christ could not have been more distinct. Though both first-century Jewish men hailed from the eastern part of the Roman Empire, they were born in very different provinces. Like Jesus Himself, Peter was from Judea in the Holy Land, while Paul was born in the city of Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, now in southern Turkey. Peter’s native language was Aramaic, Paul’s was Greek. Before his call to follow the Lord, Peter was a fisherman by trade, while Paul was a tentmaker.
Peter’s call to become one of the 12 Apostles came when he was with his brother Andrew, fishing on the Sea of Galilee. While Jesus was walking, he saw them.
Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men!” At once they left their nets and followed Him. (Mark 1:17-18)
It was Peter’s faith and true belief that Jesus was truly the “anointed one” – in Aramaic, Messiah, and in Greek, Christ – which led to the Lord deciding to hand him the keys to the Church.
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17)
In the words of Franciscan Media:
The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of a dead child to life, and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus’ death. His name is first on every list of apostles.
Though rightfully known as an Apostle, Paul was not one of the 12. In fact, before his miraculous conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul was then known mostly as Saul of Tarsus, an outlaw who frequently persecuted and killed Christians. Paul’s transformation from a murderer to one of the greatest saints is proof that through God’s grace and endless mercy, anything is possible.
St. Paul is beloved for being the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” who helped fulfill God’s expansion of His Kingdom to people who were not of Jewish descent. In writing to formerly pagan Roman converts to Christianity, he beautifully compared the Kingdom to an olive tree they were “grafted” onto.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree. (Romans 11:17)
In his letter to the Galatian church in central Anatolia (now Turkey), Paul cemented this notion of “grafting,” saying, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
Peter and Paul died martyrs at roughly the same time in the same city, both at the hands of Emperor Nero’s Roman government, which was heavily persecuting Christians. Yet, they died in separate areas and were killed in different ways. Paul was likely beheaded. Peter was famously crucified upside down – which came at his request, as he refused to die on a cross in the same matter as God’s only Son.
Church tradition of Peter and Paul sharing a feast day dates back to the third century. Both saints are also honored on another day on which a particular momentous event of their life is celebrated. Every January 25, the Church honors the conversion of St. Paul, while every February 22 is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, where we celebrate the biblical origin of the papacy when Jesus named Simon Peter as the “rock” on which “I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18).
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
