Two Pillars of the Church
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June 28, 2025Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul,apostles and martyrs. It is marked in the liturgical calendar as solemnity which is the highest rank for a liturgical feast, and as such, when it falls on a Sunday of Ordinary Time, like today, it outranks the Ordinary Sunday and is celebrated instead. This solemnity honors their martyrdom, St. Peter was crucified upside down and St. Paul was beheaded, both during the reignof Emperor Nero.
Why is it so significant that it outranks the celebration of Ordinary Sunday?
St. Peter and St. Paul are considered the two important pillars of the Church, the builders of the foundation with Jesus as the keystone, and we, believers as living stones. St. Peter is known as the “Prince of the Apostles” while St. Paul is known as the“Apostle to the Gentiles.” In the Scriptures, Peter was called byJesus at the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 1:16-18; Luke 5:10) and was commissioned with the keys to the kingdom (Matthew16:19) and as the shepherd of the sheep (John 21:15-17).Paul, on the other hand, was called by Jesus on the road toDamascus (Acts 9:4-6) and was commissioned to be an apostle and set apart to proclaim the Gospel of God (Romans 1:1).Thus, by the manner of their calling and being sent, both are considered apostles of foremost importance in building up the foundation of the Church. Both are also considered patron saints of Rome where each has magnificent churches dedicated to them, St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Paul Basilica Outside the Walls.
In the Preface of today’s Mass, it presents the two-fold mission of St. Peter and St. Paul:“For by your providence, the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul bring us joy:
Peter, foremost in confessing the faith,
Paul, its outstanding preacher,
Peter, who established the early Church from the remnant of Israel,
Paul, master and teacher of the Gentiles that you call.”
The celebration of this solemnity of the two great saints reminds us of our mission and action in the Church despite of our limitations and weaknesses. St. Peter denied Jesus yet he was able to confirm his love and faithfulness and became the symbol of unity and stability of the Church. St. Paul was a persecutor of Christians, yet he became the symbol of mission an evangelization of the Church. They were ordinary men called to do extraordinary mission. We too, in our ordinariness as living stones of the Church can do extraordinary mission and continue the work of evangelization in ways that we may never had imagined.
St. Augustine of Hippo has these words of wisdom for us as we ponder the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul: “Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day madeholy for us by the apostles’ blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching,and their confession of faith.”