29th June: Feast Day of St Peter

St Peter, the Fisherman who became a disciple of Christ, the one who denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed, the first pope, and gatekeeper of Heaven is celebrated today. Some things you may not know about St Peter:

1. Although the women saw the empty tomb first, Saint Peter was the first to go inside.
2. Saint Peter is patron of Wolves, Bakers, Bridge builders, Butchers, Fishermen, Harvesters, Locksmiths, Cobblers, Masons, Net makers, Shipwrights and Stationers.
3. If you have Frenzy, Foot problems or Fever; want to live a long life or enjoy good weather, then St Peter is the person to invoke.
4. In art, Saint Peter is shown as an elderly, bearded, balding, thick-set man with keys hanging from his belt. Traditional art never shows him in the role popular culture has given him, namely as the gatekeeper to Heaven, although he is often shown at the right side of God.
5. When Peter knew he was to be executed by crucifixion, he asked to be crucified upside down, because he believed he wasn't worthy to be executed in the same way as Jesus.
6. In the 1960s, some bone fragments were found in debris from excavations from under St Peter's Basilica in Rome. After forensic tests showed them to be of a 61 year old man from the first century, Pope Paul VI declared that they were probably relics of Saint Peter. They were not seen in public, though, until last year when Pope Francis revealed them during a Mass in Saint Peter's Square.
7. Peter appears in ancients texts other than the Bible. The gnostic gospels of Thomas and Mary show him complaining bitterly about Mary Magdalene, a mere woman, being allowed to listen to Christ's teachings!
8. The Orthodox Church have given him the title Coryphaeus, which translates as "Choir-director", or lead singer.
9. Saint Peter shares his feast day with St Paul...
10. ... but there are other days in the church calendar dedicated to him. January 16 is Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Holy and All-Glorious Apostle Peter Day, celebrating the incident in the Book of Acts when chains miraculously fell off him in prison; The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter is on 22nd February.