St Peter

• Peter came from the village of Bethsaida in Galilee and his father was a fisherman
• Peter worked the fishing nets with his father and his brother Andrew at the lakeside town of Capernaum. Andrew also joined the group of Jesus’ disciples on the same day.
• Peter and Andrew were among the first to be chosen by Jesus to be his close followers
• From the moment Jesus met Peter, he knew that Peter would be the rock of the Church
• Peter is traditionally considered to be the head of Jesus’ 12 Apostles
• Peter’s original name was Simon, Peter being a name given to him by Jesus
• Jesus gave Peter the added name of Cephas, an Aramaic appellation meaning “rock.” This was translated into Greek as Petros (from the Greek petra, “rock”) and became the Latin Petrus and the English Peter
• Peter was the first bishop of Rome
• Peter was the first of the Apostles to see Jesus after his resurrection from the dead
• We are told of various missionary trips which Peter undertook in order to preach about Jesus
• When faced with his fate, Peter asked to be crucified upside down. It is said he did not feel worthy to be martyred in the same manner as Christ
• St. Peter is the patron saint of Popes, Rome, fishermen, and locksmiths.