SAINT PETER
Peter was also known as Simon or Cephas, which in Greek and Aramaic respectively, means rock. He was the brother of Andrew who were both fishermen by trade.
He was the most outspoken of the disciples. Along with the brothers James and John, he made up the third of the inner circle of Jesus’s closet disciples.
He probably wrote the books 1 and 2 Peter.
He was the leading Apostle after Pentecost until the Council of Jerusalem in 50 A.D. Afterwards his whereabouts are not known with certainty.
Peter was crucified in Rome under Nero. An ancient historian records that he asked to be crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to crucified as his Lord.
The keys represent Jesus’s saying, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
St. Peter’s Feast Day is celebrated on June 29.