Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles
Patron of fishermen, popes, locksmiths, missionaries, evangelists, writers
On the same day, by the most ancient Roman tradition, the two great apostles laid down their lives for Christ — Peter crucified upside-down on the Vatican Hill, Paul beheaded by the sword on the road to Ostia. The first kept the Lord's words 'You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church'; the second proclaimed Christ from Jerusalem to Spain. Their tombs, beneath the basilicas that bear their names, became the goal of the great Roman pilgrimage and the heart of Christian unity. The Church keeps their festival together because 'their work, though different, was one.'