THE APOSTLE PETER IN ROME

Peter went to Rome for the first time in 42, at the beginning of Claudius’ reign, probably immediately after his miraculous release from the prison in Jerusalem. In Rome, Peter preached the Gospel above all to the Jews of the Diaspora, those who lived in the condition of freedman, and administered Baptism to them in the Tiber. And since it was hosted by one of his followers, Senator Pudente, he celebrated the Eucharist in that house, together with other brothers. That house thus became one of the first house churches in Rome. A few years later he left Rome and stayed briefly in Antioch, where he clashed with Paul over a question that was immediately resolved during the Council of Jerusalem in 49. Peter went to preach the Gospel also in Corinth, in Pontus, in Galatia, in Bithynia, in Cappadocia. In his absence, the responsibility for the Church of Rome was entrusted to Lino. When he returned to Rome, Peter remained there until 67, the year of his martyrdom: he was crucified upside down in the Circus of Nero, in the Vatican, and was buried not far from the place of martyrdom, where St. Peter’s Basilica was later built. The apostle Pietro was bishop of Rome for twenty-five years. Lino succeeded him. Peter’s preaching in Rome was the cause of the composition of the gospel according to Mark. In fact, during the period that Mark stayed in Rome with Peter, those who heard the apostle speak were so amazed by his preaching that they insisted with Mark that he put everything in writing.