St. Peter

Feast day: 29th June

Patronage: Churches, Workers

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Peter is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and is venerated as a saint. Peter is venerated in multiple churches and is regarded as the first pope by the Catholic Church.

The Gospel of John gives a comparable account of "The First Disciples". In John, we are told that it was two disciples of John the Baptist(Andrew and an unnamed disciple) who heard John the Baptist announce Jesus as the "Lamb of God" and then followed Jesus. Andrew then went and fetched his brother Simon, saying, "We have found the Messiah", and then brought Simon to Jesus.

In a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples (Matthew 16:13-20), Jesus asks, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The disciples give various answers. When he asks, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In turn, Jesus declares Peter to be "blessed" for having recognized Jesus' true identity and attributes this recognition to a divine revelation. Then Jesus addresses Simon by what seems to have been the nickname "Peter" (Cephas in Aramaic, Petros [stone] in Greek) and says, "On this rock (petra in Greek) I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it."

Peter is said to have been crucified under Emperor Nero. It is traditionally held that he was crucified upside down at his own request, since he saw himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus Christ. Catholic tradition holds that Saint Peter's site of crucifixion is located in the Clementine Chapel, while his mortal bones and remains are contained in the underground Confessio of St. Peter's Basilica which is the site Pope Paul VI announced the excavation discovery of a first-century A.D. Roman cemetery in 1968. Since 1969, a life-size statue of Saint Peter is crowned every year in St. Peter's Basilica with a papal tiara, ring of the fisherman, and papal vestments every June 29th, commemorating the holy feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

Number of Family: 20

Sr. Elizabeth

Mr. Hinson P K

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