Feast of St Peter and St Paul

Event Dates

The feast of these two apostles, both key figures in the history of early Christianity and patron saints of Rome, is also a public holiday. Special observations are held in various churches throughout the city.

The focal point of the celebrations are the two respective Basilicas of the saints, San Paolo fuori le Mura and St Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican.

This mostly religious celebration of Paul and Peter, which allegedly marks the martyrdom of the two apostles in the year 67, is one of the very earliest observations of Christianity. In fact it predates the institution of Christmas!

There are records of early Christian celebrations on this day way back in the 4th century. The Christian festival was probably superimposed on an earlier Roman practice, that of celebrating the two child-founders of the city, Romulus and Remus, as a step in expanding the power and influence of the fledgling church.