Vatican City, Jun 29, 2010 / 14:23 pm
Although they carried out different missions, Saints Peter and Paul together form the foundation of the “one, holy, Catholic, Apostolic” Church, said Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday. The Pope celebrated Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on the solemnity of the two saints and later led the Angelus in St. Peter's Square.
Greeting those present in the square, the Pope explained that the celebration of the Apostles Peter and Paul is a celebration of the Church's sacred roots. Both saints, he noted, are buried in the cathedrals in Rome dedicated to them.
The Holy Father spoke of Peter's profession of faith to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This declaration from the humble fisherman of Galilee is not the product of reason, he said, but a revelation of the Father, as confirmed by Jesus, who responded by saying that “neither flesh nor blood has revealed this to you.”
“Simon Peter is so close to the Lord that he himself becomes a rock of faith and love on which Jesus built his Church,” the Pope said, noting that Jesus goes on to tell Peter, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”