Pope Francis on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Saints Paul 2024: Let us be inspired by their story

This Saturday, June 29, during the Mass for the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Pope Francis called on the faithful to be inspired by the history of these two great pillars of the Catholic Church.

“In the light of the Word of God, let us allow ourselves to be inspired by his story, by the apostolic zeal that has marked the path of his life. When they met the Lord, they lived a true Easter experience: they were liberated and, before them, the doors of a new life were opened,” he noted in his homily this morning before more than 5 thousand parishioners.

The celebration, which took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, included the blessing of the palliums of the 42 metropolitan archbishops appointed in the last year. The ceremony was also concelebrated with 36 cardinals, 36 bishops and 400 priests, according to Vatican News.

“Let us look at the two Apostles Peter and Paul: the fisherman from Galilee whom Jesus made a fisher of men; the Pharisee persecutor of the Church transformed by Grace into the evangelizer of the nations,” said the Holy Father, inviting us to reflect on the power of conversion and evangelization.

The Pope stopped at the idea of ​​the “Easter experience” lived by both apostles, pointing out how their encounters with Jesus gave them a life with greater meaning, with a transcendent meaning.

“When they met the Lord, they lived a true Easter experience: they were freed and, before them, the doors of a new life were opened,” he said, highlighting Peter’s release from prison as a new exodus and work of mercy. God.

The Pontiff also emphasized the upcoming Jubilee of 2025 and the importance of the Holy Door. “The Jubilee will be a time of grace in which we will open the Holy Door, so that everyone can cross the threshold of that living sanctuary that is Jesus and, in Him, live the experience of the love of God that strengthens hope and renews joy.” “, he claimed.

Using the figure of the door, the Holy Father also recalled the story of Peter, who was freed from prison by an angel. “On that night of liberation, the doors of the prison were miraculously opened; and then, before Peter and the angel who accompanied him, they are said to have met ‘before the iron gate that leads to the city; the door opened by itself before them’ (Acts 12:10)”, he noted, emphasizing that it is God who opens the doors, paving the way for his people.

He then used the metaphor of open doors again to describe Paul’s evangelistic ministry. He remembered how the Apostle to the Gentiles experienced the opening of doors in his mission.

“Thus, of his arrival in Antioch with Barnabas, it is said that ‘when they arrived, they gathered the Church and related everything that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles’ (Acts 14,27). Likewise, addressing the Corinthian community he says: ‘A great and prosperous door has been opened to me’ (1 Cor 16:9); and writing to the Colossians he exhorts them like this: ‘Pray also for us, so that God opens the door of the Word for us to announce the mystery of Christ’ (Col 4:3)”, he recalled.

The Pope concluded his homily with a call to the new metropolitan archbishops to open the doors of the Gospel to the people of God. “In communion with Peter and following the example of Christ, door of the sheep, they are called to be zealous shepherds, who open the doors of the Gospel and who, with their ministry, contribute to building a Church and a society with open doors,” Francis exhorted.

The ceremony was attended by a Delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Pope Francis expressed the ecumenical commitment of the Church and sent a cordial greeting to his “dear brother” Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople.

“Saints Peter and Paul help us open the door of our lives to the Lord Jesus, intercede for us, for the city of Rome and for the entire world. Amen,” he concluded.