Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pope: Feast of the Chair of Peter celebrates the "Cathedra" as Christ's gift to His Church

The Pope’s teaching on the Feast of the Chair of Peter: “To celebrate the "Cathedra" of Peter means to give it special spiritual significance and recognise it as a special sign of the love of God, the eternal good Shepherd who desires to gather his whole Church together and guide her on the way to salvation”

Vatican City (Fides Service) - The feast of the Chair of Peter which the Church celebrates today 22 February was the subject of Pope Benedict XVI’s teaching during his weekly General Wednesday Audience. Again this week due to the large number of visitors the Pope greeted a first group in St Peter’s and then the rest in the Paul VI Hall. The theme of his teaching was “The Chair of Peter, Christ’s gift to his Church”.

“Today the Latin liturgy celebrates the feast of the Chair of Peter - the Pope said -. The purpose of this ancient feast, celebrated in Rome since the 4th century, is to thank God for the mission entrusted to Saint Peter the apostle and to his successors.” The Pope explained that the "cathedra" “literally the seat of the bishop in the mother Church of a diocese called for this reason the ‘cathedral’, is the symbol of the bishop’s authority and especially of his teaching”. Referring to the See of Saint Peter “chosen by Christ to be the ‘rock’ on which to build his Church (cfr Mt 16,18)”, Pope Benedict XVI recalled that Peter began his ministry in Jerusalem and that the Church’s first ‘chair’ was in the Upper Room. Later Antioch became the See of Peter who was the first Bishop of Antioch. “From there Providence led Peter to Rome where he crowned his service of the Church with martyrdom. Hence the See of Rome after receiving this great honour also inherited the duty to be at the service of all the Particular Churches for the building up of the whole People of God in unity”.

As the early Fathers of the Church say “the See of Rome was recognised as that of the successor of Peter and the "cathedra" of its bishop represents that of the Apostle charged by Christ to feed his flock”. “To celebrate the "Cathedra" of Peter means therefore to give it profound spiritual significance and recognise it as a special sign of the love of God the eternal good Shepherd who desires to gather and guide his whole Church together on the way to salvation”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 22/2/2006, righe 24, parole 377)

Links:
See the Pope's teaching
http://www.evangelizatio.org/portale/adgentes/pontefici/pontefice.php?id=463

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 9:18 AM