Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1600), Caravaggio · public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

His story

Simon, a fisherman from Bethsaida working at Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee, was called by Jesus with his brother Andrew (Mark 1:16–18). Jesus renamed him Kephas/Petros, "Rock" (Matthew 16:18). He denied Jesus three times, was restored after the Resurrection (John 21), led the early Jerusalem church, and according to tradition died a martyr in Rome under Nero.

Path to sainthood

An apostle, venerated from the beginning. No formal canonisation (pre-Congregation). Catholic tradition regards him as the first pope.

Patronages

Fishermen, net makers, popes, and locksmiths (the keys of the kingdom).

Trivia

• Early tradition (recorded by Origen, via Eusebius) says he asked to be crucified upside down, feeling unworthy to die as Jesus did.
• Excavations under St Peter's Basilica in the 1940s–60s found a 1st-century tomb area. On 26 June 1968 Pope Paul VI announced that bones found there had been identified "in a way we can consider convincing" as Peter's, based largely on Margherita Guarducci's work. He stopped short of certainty, and scholars still debate it.
• Peter's in-law appears in the Gospels: Jesus healed his mother-in-law (Mark 1:30), so Peter was married.

Sources

• Benedict XVI, General Audience "Peter, the rock" (7 Jun 2006), vatican.va
• Vatican News: St Peter
• Britannica: St Peter the Apostle
• Catholic Encyclopedia: St Peter (Origen on the upside-down crucifixion)
• AP: Vatican unveils bone fragments said to be Peter's

Fact-checked on October 15, 2026 against New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia), Vatican documents and news reports. Britannica links are given for further reading. Feast days follow the General Roman Calendar.

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