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The Year of St. Paul: The deaths of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome
by Fr. Richard J. Cassidy special to The Michigan Catholic
Published June 26, 2009
Editor's note: This is the final in a five-part periodic series on the Year of St. Paul.
When they first met in Jerusalem, after Paul's conversion, could St. Paul and St. Peter ever have anticipated that their respective journeys would lead both of them to martyrdom in Rome?
There is some difficulty in reconstructing the precise sequence of the contacts between these two apostles. Certainly Jerusalem was the site of their first meeting, a meeting that took place in the aftermath of Paul's conversion.
Perhaps a decade later, a second meeting involving Paul and Peter again took place in Jerusalem. At this second meeting, Peter, in concert with James and John, affirmed the basic approach that Paul had evolved for inviting Gentiles into the Church.
St. Paul notes these two prior meetings at the outset of his Letter to the Galatians. Paul then describes Peter's subsequent visit to Antioch and the controversy that he had with Peter at that time (Galatians 2:11-14).
In the latter chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke describes Paul's journeys in considerable detail and relates the series of events that resulted in Paul becoming a chained prisoner of the Roman authorities. By reason of his appeal to Caesar, Paul's case was transferred from Judea to Rome.
According to Acts, Paul stayed in Rome as a prisoner under military custody for more than two years. Heavy Roman chains hindered him, but Paul still had the possibility of meeting with many groups and Luke states that Paul "welcomed all who came to him" (Acts 28:30).
What of Peter? How did he reach Rome? The writings of the New Testament provide virtually no answer to this question.
According to Acts, Peter continued to reside in Jerusalem until the time when he was chained by Herod Agrippa in preparation for execution. Luke then relates that an angel miraculously freed Peter from his chains and brought him to safety. Luke next reports that Peter "departed and went to another place" (Acts 12:17).
Why does St. Luke employ such a vague description? Could it be that, at that time, Peter actually traveled to Rome? If so, it seems that he subsequently returned to Jerusalem and, as referenced above, he later visited Paul and the Church in Antioch.
According to bedrock Catholic tradition, St. Peter served as the first bishop of Rome and died a martyr's death there. Nevertheless, the New Testament writings do not describe Peter's route to Rome. Nor are there any New Testament reports concerning contact between Peter and Paul in the capital.
There is, however, an especially beautiful tradition that places these two exemplary apostles at a common location in Rome. According to this ancient tradition, both apostles were housed, just prior to their executions, in the infamous Mamertine prison at the edge of the Roman Forum.
Today this prison retains its original dungeon-like atmosphere. There is an ominous character to the dark, dank walls and especially to the "well" used for the harshest confinement. Yet this site also serves as a shrine and church maintained by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. And within this space, at once a prison and a shrine, one encounters a beautifully presented altar sculpture.
In this sculpture (which does not date from the first centuries) two prisoners are depicted. The two prisoners in chains are St. Paul and St. Peter. These two celebrated disciples of Jesus Christ are portrayed continuing their apostolic missions by catechizing and baptizing their fellow prisoners and jailers even as they await their own executions!
According to tradition, both Paul and Peter suffered martyrdom at nearly the same time under edicts from the crazed emperor Nero. Peter, the fisherman from Galilee, suffered the same demeaning crucifixion inflicted upon Jesus his Lord. As a Roman citizen, St. Paul was exempt from crucifixion and thus suffered a slightly less harsh death by beheading.
June 29 is the feast day on which the Catholic Church commemorates the Roman martyrdoms of the two apostles who were each so especially commissioned by Jesus their Lord. June 29, 2009, also marks the formal conclusion of the Year of St. Paul that Pope Benedict XVI has splendidly proclaimed.
Fr. Richard J. Cassidy is a professor of sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, and author of "Paul In Chains: Roman Imprisonment and the Letters of St. Paul."
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