June 29, the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, is an important day for the Catholic Church. This year, one of the many facets of the feast had a direct impact on the Archdiocese of Seattle, as Pope Benedict placed on my shoulders the pallium, a symbol of my share in his governance of the church in the state of Washington and of my vocation in Christ to be a good shepherd for you.
Forty new archbishops from around the world came to St. Peter's Basilica to receive the pallium, and another five will receive it in their local cathedrals. Many pilgrims from our archdiocese were there, including Archbishop Brunett, Bishop Elizondo, and 12 priests. The pilgrimage helped us reflect on our unity in faith, the power of the Gospel, and our role to seek out the sheep of God's flock. Traces of Peter and Paul are everywhere and helped us understand the lasting nature of the church established by Christ himself.
According to Roman mythology, Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of the god Mars. As the story goes, after birth the twins were set afloat in a container on the Tiber River; once they drifted ashore, they were nursed by a wolf until a shepherd and his wife found them. Romulus and Remus are always portrayed together in Roman art.
Peter and Paul are called the "new founders of Rome" and typically appear together in Christian art; their feast is a public holiday in Rome! They made no claim to divinity; to the contrary, they had to fend off admirers who wanted to honor them as gods. 
They knew well that they were called by the true God to build the church, to extend her arms to the world through the preaching of the Gospel.
Sts. Peter and Paul
Christians have honored Peter and Paul on June 29 since the fourth century. In the early days, Roman Christians made pilgrimage with their bishop to honor the saints on the feast. First, they celebrated Mass at St. Peter's basilica, built on the site of Peter's tomb; next, they went in procession to the catacombs on the Appian Way, where the bodies of both saints had once been buried; and finally, they processed to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls of Rome on the Ostian Way, where Paul was buried. Their annual pilgrimage was not only a way to honor Peter and Paul — it was also a way to experience a small taste of the trials they had suffered for the Gospel.
Take Peter, for example. He was imprisoned several times before being martyred by Nero in A.D. 64. The prisons of his day were dark, dank, smelly and unhealthy beyond words. Peter was regarded as such an influential prisoner that he was placed in double chains, with two guards at his side and another at the door of his cell. When he was miraculously freed from prison, he realized that God had freed him for one purpose — that he might continue to spread the good news of Christ Jesus.
Paul likewise knew his share of hardship and legal entanglement for the sake of the faith. He made four missionary journeys across the Mediterranean Sea — a difficult, dangerous and highly uncommon trek in his day. He even experienced the horror of shipwreck. Remarkably, Paul did not let such challenges keep him from his mission of evangelization. He, too, was eventually martyred by Nero, probably in A.D. 67.
Free in faith
Peter was given the keys to the kingdom by the Lord, keys for binding and loosing. Paul wrote that there is no imprisoning the word of God. They both knew that even in chains, they were free in faith, free in love of God, who would always hold them and the church safe in his care. Perhaps what you and I sometimes consider "chains" and "prisons" are not hindrances at all. Peter and Paul teach that the only real hindrance is our refusal to follow Christ — and the only real freedom is achieved by allowing ourselves to be led in all things, at every moment, in every trial and in every decision by Christ alone.
Our group visited not only the holy sites in Rome but also the ruins of ancient Rome. Our visit to the Colosseum — fascinating for its history and engineering (its construction began shortly after their deaths) — reminded us that Peter and Paul were sent by the Lord to preach the Gospel in a society marked by brutality, disrespect for human life and bizarre pastimes. Against all odds they preached Christ Jesus, depending entirely on God's grace. Our enduring faith is ample testament to God's power at work through the church.
This year, June 29 was also the 60th anniversary of the ordination of Pope Benedict and his brother, Georg (who attended the Mass, sitting a few rows behind me). I think it was a particular joy for the pope to be with us that day, knowing as he does better than anyone the challenges and persecutions faced by the church around the world. His love and trust in Christ were unmistakable, and in addition to speaking about the meaning of the pallium, he spoke of the priesthood as a yoke of friendship with Christ. In the middle of his homily, he prayed a brief prayer:
"Lord, help me to come to know you more and more. Help me to be ever more at one with your will. Help me to live my life not for myself, but in union with you to live it for others. Help me to become ever more your friend." Those words resonated deeply with all the new archbishops. Before we received the pallium, we said, "I, (James Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle), will always be faithful and obedient to blessed Peter the Apostle, to the Holy, Apostolic Church of Rome, to you, Supreme Pontiff, and to your legitimate successors. So help me almighty God."
We know that only in deep union with Christ will we be good shepherds, too.
