At St. Peter’s, Rome, August 8, 2000

Dear Pilgrims,

Here we stand at the tomb of St. Peter, first pope, prince of the apostles.  Here we stand in this basilica that bears his name, built both on the place of his martyrdom, located at the end of the transept, and of his tomb.

Consider, first, his martyrdom: Our Lord had said to him, "Follow Me," and he followed Him in the most beautiful of deaths.  There is no greater love than to die for those one loves, and to die as the Word Incarnate died, on the cross, sealing thereby the mission that had been confided to him.  Our Lord had announced to the apostles: "You also will bear witness to me," and how moving it is to see this fidelity to the bitter end, heroic fidelity to the faith.  Peter was the first to seal in his blood the foundation of the Church.

St. Peter’s tomb: "Tu es Petrus…thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church."  Here we are at the heart of His Church, the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church of God, the Catholic Church.  And, ever since St. Peter, Rome is the seat of the Catholic Church, this Roman Church, that we must believe, that we must love.

Who says Peter, says the pope, the Sovereign Pontiff.  In the New Testament, we see two prayers for Peter.  The first is of Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  ‘Peter, I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren" (Lk. 22:32).  The second prayer we find in the Acts of the Apostles: "…prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him" (Acts 12:15).  For him, for St. Peter, St. Peter in chains, in prison.  These two prayers indicate the tribulations which the chief, the head of the Church which bears the glorious title of militant, will have to endure throughout the centuries and even today.  Yes, the Church is like the heir, the depository of the enmity which God Himself placed between the serpent and the woman, between "thy seed and her seed."  As for us, we desire to unite ourselves to this prayer that is indicated by the Holy Ghost in the Sacred Scripture, to this twofold prayer for the Vicar of Christ, the successor of Peter.  We also pray to St. Peter for fidelity, fidelity to the end: only he who is faithful to the end will be saved.  In addition to this fidelity to the faith, we also pray to him for his zeal, the zeal of the apostles, apostolic zeal, the charity that causes such a great love of souls that it makes one ready for any and all sacrifices for the sake of saving souls.  At Fatima our Lady said, "Many souls fall into hell because there is no one to make sacrifices for them."  And, at the same time, of course, we pray for the end of these trials, and an indefectible attachment to the Roman Church, our Mother.

Now we are going to make these halls rock with the sound of the Credo, the Faith which was that of St. Peter, which has traversed the ages, and has endured, and continues.