In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, apostles and martyrs. This is the day the Church has marked as the date of the death of these two pillars of the Church, so that we may rejoice to receive the gifts God has given to His people through these saints. For it is indeed good, right, and salutary that we should reflect upon those who have gone before us, give thanks for their faithful confession of the Faith, and meditate upon their examples of holy living.
Ancient tradition holds that Peter and Paul were both martyred on this day, although the exact year, or whether they both died the same day, or on separate years, has been debated throughout the centuries. It is believed that St. Paul was beheaded just outside the city of Rome proper, at a place now called Tre Fontane. He was then buried at a place now covered by the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Wall.
St. Peter, on the other hand, is reported to have suffered a much more gruesome martyrdom. Origen asserts that “Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer.” This is taken as fulfillment of what Jesus said to Peter in John 21: “when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” It is understood that Peter met his death in the Gardens of Nero on the Vatican hill. His remains now lie in a vault beneath the high altar of the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City, the altar from which the Pope celebrates the Mass.