The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle

This feast does not honor a piece of furniture but the mission Jesus entrusted to Peter: 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.' The chair, or cathedra, is the ancient sign of a bishop's authority to teach and to shepherd, which is why a bishop's church is called a cathedral.

A feast of Peter's chair was already celebrated in Rome in the fourth century, on February 22, a date when Romans traditionally remembered their deceased relatives; Christians used it to honor their father in faith. For centuries there were two feasts, one for Peter's chair at Antioch and one at Rome, until they were united on this date in 1960. In Saint Peter's Basilica, Gian Lorenzo Bernini's great bronze monument, completed in 1666, encloses an ancient wooden chair venerated as a relic, surrounded by figures of four Doctors of the Church and crowned by a window of the Holy Spirit.

In Saint Peter's Basilica the Altar of the Chair is decorated with candles and flowers on this day, and the Pope has at times celebrated Mass there or created new cardinals around this feast.

Catholics around the world pray especially for the Holy Father and for unity in the Church.