St. Peter
Prince of the Apostles, First Pope
The fisherman who was given a new name and the keys of the kingdom, who denied his Lord three times and was forgiven three times over.
- Feast
- June 29 (with St. Paul)
- Lived
- First century, died c. AD 64–67
Invoked For
- The papacy
- Fishermen
- Locksmiths
- Rome
His Life
He was Simon, a fisherman of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, working with his brother Andrew. Jesus called them from their nets with a promise that has never lost its force: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
He is the most vivid of the apostles because he is the most human. He walks on water and then sinks for fear. He confesses "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," and is answered with a new name — Peter, the Rock — and the keys of the kingdom. Minutes later he is rebuked as an obstacle. He swears he will never fall away, and denies his Lord three times before a charcoal fire, and goes out and weeps.
And it is precisely to this man that the risen Christ comes on the shore, with three questions to answer the three denials: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" — and after each answer, a commission: Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep.
After Pentecost he preached the first sermon of the Church, led the community through its first great decisions, and came at last to Rome. Under Nero he was martyred, and by ancient tradition asked to be crucified upside down, judging himself unworthy to die in the manner of his Master.
The Path to Sainthood
St. Peter is a pre-congregation saint, venerated from the first as chief of the apostles and as a martyr. He is counted the first Bishop of Rome, and every pope since stands in the line that begins with him.
He was buried on the Vatican hill. The great basilica was raised over his grave, and excavations beneath it in the twentieth century uncovered a first-century burial in exactly the place tradition had always pointed to; in 1968 St. Paul VI announced that the bones of the apostle had been identified.
He shares his feast with St. Paul on June 29, the two of them honored together as the founders of the Church at Rome.
Prayers to St. Peter
Tap any prayer to open it large and clear — set for reading aloud. Close it to return here and choose another.