Killed on the same day, we can recognize the traits that unite Saint Peter and Paul, these two men are so different. Even though they are celebrated together, in their common will to spread the Gospel message and the legacy left by the human and mortal experience of Jesus.
If Peter was the “stone” on which the Church was built, as well as leading the flock of God, Paul was the most fervent preacher of the Word in the whole Mediterranean world, the first missionary in history.
There is also no doubt about the link between Saint Peter and Paul and Rome, where both were killed. In 2012 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI declared them both “principal patrons of the Church of Rome”. Even today Rome remembers them with a great feast, during which an impressive fireworks display takes place, while Saint Peter is decorated with a magnificent infiorata, and the Pope gives a band of white wool (the palio), to the bishops of the city, before kissing the foot of the statue of Saint Peter that for the anniversary is covered with a red cloak.
Although different, although distant in history and experience, and despite having clashed with each other precisely because of these differences, Saint Peter and Paul are like complementary brothers, bound by the Gospel of which they were messengers and depositories. In the Discourses of Saint Augustine we read: “One day is dedicated to the feast of the two apostles. But they too were one. Although they were martyred on different days, however, they were one in Christ.”
So two individuals that history is kept separate, that nature and nature have kept apart, have gathered together in Christ and for Christ.