"And thus we came to Rome"

 

And thus we came to Rome [Acts 28:14].

With that simple sentence, Luke summarizes the geographical trajectory of the Book of Acts, the sequel to his Gospel, which has taken the apostolic Church from its start in Jerusalem, through its growth and spread throughout the Mediterranean world, to its logical end in the city at the center of the world, imperial Rome. That geographical trajectory mirrors and signifies Acts' spiritual trajectory - the rapid growth and expansion of the Church from a small Jewish sect to a world Church equally open to Gentiles as well as jJews. 

The martyrdom at Rome of the two principal Apostles, Peter and Paul, is celebrated annually on June 29. Today, the Church commemorates the dedication of the two great basilicas that mark the sites of the apostles’ burials, Saint Peter’s Basilica on the Vatican Hill and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls on Ostian Way. Both basilicas were originally built by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century. The original Saint Peter’s was famously replaced with the current magnificent baroque building, dedicated on this date in 1626. Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls was rebuilt in the 19th century after its destruction by fire in 1823. The new basilica was dedicated by Blessed Pope Pius IX on December 10, 1854. But just as the two apostles’ martyrdoms are always commemorated together on same day, likewise their churches’ dedications are celebrated together on this date.

Together with the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, which is the Pope’s cathedral as Bishop of Rome, and the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on the Esquiline Hill, these four papal basilicas each with a Jubilee Year Holy Door, have ben welcoming pilgrims from all over the world, who have been visiting this year to receive the Jubilee indulgence during this Holy Year which will conclude this coming January 6. Likewise, as part of their Quinquennial visit ad limina, which all diocesan bishops are required to make every fifth year to report on the life of their local Churches, the bishops as "successors of the apostles" all make a visit “to the tombs of the apostles,” hence to these two basilicas.

When we celebrate these two ancient churches that take us back to ancient Rome and the apostles who first brought the faith to what was then the center of the world, we commemorate the apostolic foundations of the Church, and we celebrate our unity with one another and with the Church of the founding apostles across the borders of space and time. And we celebrate the Church's continuing mission to proclaim the good news in very part of the world.

Homily for the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Papal Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul, at Saint Paul the Apostle Church, NY, November 18, 2025..

Photos: St. Peter's Basilica (top) and the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Bottom).