Saint Peter

Saint Peter (1a.C-67) was an apostle of Christ. He is regarded as the founder of the Christian Church in Rome. He is considered by the Catholic Church as its first pope. The main sources that relate the life of Saint Peter are the four canonical gospels, belonging to the New Testament. Originally written in Greek, at different times, by the disciples Mateus, Marcos, João and Lucas, Pedro appears prominently in all evangelical narratives.

Saint Peter (1a.C-67) was born in Bethsaida, Galilee. Son of Jonas and brother of the apostle Andrew, his birth name was Simon. Fisherman, he worked with his brother and father. At the suggestion of John the Baptist, he was taken by his brother Andrew to meet Jesus Christ. At the first meeting Jesus called him Kepha, which in Aramaic meant stone, and translated into Greek Petros, determining that he be the apostle chosen to lead the first preachers of the Christian faith around the world. At this time of his encounter with Christ, Peter lived in Capernaum, with his wife's family.

Peter was chosen as the head of Christianity here on earth: "And I say to you, you are a stone and on this stone, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. and everything you connect on earth will also be connected in the heavens ". A convert, he emerged as the leader of the twelve apostles, he was the first to perceive the son of God in Jesus.

Together with his brother and brothers James and John the Evangelist, Peter was part of Jesus' inner circle among the twelve apostles. He participated in the Master's most important miracles on earth. He was the first apostle to see Christ after the Ascension. He chaired the assembly of the apostles who chose Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot. He gave his first sermon on the day of Pentecost and wandered through several cities.

He met with St. Paul in Jerusalem, and supported his initiative, to include non-Jews in the Christian faith, without forcing them to participate in Jewish initiation rituals. After that meeting, he was arrested by order of King Agrippa I. He was sent to Rome during the reign of Nero, where he began to live. There he founded and presided over the Christian community, the base of the Roman Catholic Church, and therefore according to tradition, he was executed by order of Nero. It is also said that he asked to be crucified upside down, for believing himself unworthy of dying in the same position as Christ.

His tomb is located under St. Peter's Cathedral, in the Vatican, and is authenticated by many historians.