Press Release

Initiatives for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul

Wednesday 19 June at 11.30, the presentation press conference in the Poletti Hall of the Lateran Palace

The initiatives for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, patron saints of Rome, promoted by the Vicariates of the diocese of Rome and Vatican City, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Rome and Panathlon International, will be concentrated in the days 28 to 30 June. In particular, on Friday 28 there will be a prayer vigil in Saint Peter's Basilica at 21.00; on Saturday 29 there will be “Quo Vadis”, a walk that starts from the ancient Appian Way and touches on the historical stages of the presence of the two apostles in the city; finally, on 30 June, there will be “Peter and Paul in Rome”, a theatrical performance by and with Michele La Ginestra, at the exedra of the Trajan Markets in the Imperial Forum.

The initiatives will be presented with a press conference on Wednesday 29 June, at 11.30, in the Cardinal Ugo Poletti Hall of the Lateran Apostolic Palace (Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano 6 – Piazza San Giovanni Paolo II). The speakers will be Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City; Bishop Baldo Reina, vicegerent of the diocese of Rome; Massimo Osanno, director general of Museums, Minister of Culture; Gianmarco Mazzi, under-secretary of State, Ministry of Culture; Francesco Sortino, coordinator of the “Quo Vadis” Project; Michele La Ginestra; and a representative of the Capitoline administration. Fr. Giulio Albanese, director of the Social Communications Office of the Vicariate, will moderate.

“We wish to place at the centre the maximum apostolic memories by rediscovering the message and the witness of Peter and Paul through the places conserved by tradition”, say Cardinal Gambetti and Bishop Reina, “and above all, to recall the vocation of the Christian community in the city of Rome at the threshold of the Jubilee we are about to celebrate; to renew a spirit of welcome in all our pastoral realities to benefit the pilgrims who will come; to offer a witness of charity and faith with our bishop, Pope Francis”.

The basic idea is to "restore to Rome the stay of its patrons, who give a character of universality to this city: here Peter and Paul lived and left traces", explains Brother Agnello Stoia, parish priest of Saint Peter's, who thus illustrates the project “Quo Vadis - On the way with Peter”, scheduled for 29 June next, with the aim that it may become an annual event. “Quo Vadis Domine? It is the question that Peter, fleeing from Rome, addresses to Jesus who manifests Himself to him on the Appian Way”. recounts the religious of the Friars Minor Conventual. “On that same road from which he was planning to flee, the Appian Way, the Regina Viarum, Saint Paul arrives in Rome, so that the Gospel of Christ might reach the heart of the world. The human stories of Peter and Paul, in Rome, intertwine, cross, separate, unite, on the streets of Rome and like the streets of Rome”. An urban walk will touch all the places linked to the two apostles, from San Sebastiano fuori le Mura to Santa Prisca, from the Mamertine Prison to Santa Maria in Via Lata. There will be two routes, one longer and the other shorter, at the end of which you will receive a “pietruzza'” a small stone symbolizing the path you have walked. It is precisely the “sanpietrino'” evoked in the 'Quo Vadis' logo, which links Peter, Rome and its streets. It is an opportunity offered to citizens, tourists, families, and the faithful to rediscover or visit for the first time many places - including the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, whose visit, exclusively for participants, is free of charge -, churches, and treasures of art and history that excite.

Then, on Sunday 30 June, the show at Trajan’s Markets “will return Peter and Paul to the streets of Roe in the years in which they were here together”, continues Brother Agnello. “It is a very profound text, but also very Roman in its culture and slang, born thanks to the sagacity, fluid writing and inventiveness of an artist of the calibre of Michele La Ginestra who will be on stage as Peter with Augusto Fornari as Paul, directed by Roberto Marafante and with music by Emanuele Friello”.

Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply no later than 24 hours before the event, exclusively via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.

14 June 2024