Cardinal Tobin: Saints Peter and Paul, Spirit-filled Evangelizers
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Vol. 7. No. 23
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
On Monday, June 29, 2026, our archdiocese will join dioceses worldwide in celebrating the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. As Pope Leo XIV has observed (quoting Saint Augustine), “the feast of the two Apostles is celebrated on one day. They too were one. For although they were martyred on different days, they were one.”
We are familiar with these two great saints. Peter is “the rock” whom Christ chose as the foundation on which his Church is built. Paul is the great missionary who proclaimed the Gospel through his words and actions and helped St. Peter and the other Apostles step beyond their comfort zones to engage in missionary work in the Church’s earliest days.
If we look closely at these two giants of our faith, we see they were ordinary people—like you and me—who were asked by Christ to do extraordinary things. Peter was a fisherman. The Gospels portray him as passionate, impulsive, and weak (despite his bravado). He protests loudly, “Lord, I will never betray you!” But when put to the test, he falls far short of his well-intentioned promise.
Paul was a tentmaker by trade who became a zealous Pharisee and persecuted the first Christians. He was present at the murder of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. Paul’s conversion was dramatic, and the assignment the Risen Lord gave him—to be the Apostle to the Gentiles—was both incredibly important and difficult. Through the letters and missionary example of St. Paul, Christ continues to be made known today to people of diverse cultures, languages, and religious backgrounds in every corner of the world.
Using the term Pope Francis coined in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), I think we can say that Saints Peter and Paul were truly “Spirit-filled evangelizers.” They allowed the Holy Spirit to enter their minds and hearts. Empowered by the Spirit, they overcame their weaknesses, prejudices, and fears. On fire with Gospel joy, both men worked miracles of faith and healing. They built up the Body of Christ in the Church’s earliest days, when proclaiming the Gospel was dangerous and extremely difficult!
Pope Francis wrote (with characteristic bluntness) that we Christians should not be sourpusses (“vinegar faces” in the original Spanish), even when confronted with obstacles, doubts, or fears. We should not act like our faith is a burden or as if Christian life is made up of an endless series of oppressive rules and regulations. We should be joyful, rejoicing in our freedom and our abiding confidence in God’s love for us.
Certainly, Saints Peter and Paul would agree. They were men who suffered intense agony and death for the sake of the Gospel. But they were also men who discovered the true meaning of freedom and the authentic joy that can only come from a personal encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ.
A year ago, in his homily for this great solemnity (see selection below), Pope Leo XIV observed:
Saints Peter and Paul also challenge us to think about the vitality of our faith. In our life as disciples, we can always risk falling into a rut, a routine, a tendency to follow the same old pastoral plans without experiencing interior renewal and a willingness to respond to new challenges. The two Apostles, however, can inspire us by the example of their openness to change, to new events, encounters and concrete situations in the life of their communities, and by their readiness to consider new approaches to evangelization in response to the problems and difficulties raised by our brothers and sisters in the faith.
Discovering “new approaches to evangelization” is one of the most important objectives of We Are His Witnesses, the initiative to foster pastoral conversion that has been underway here in the Archdiocese of Newark since last summer.
In my pastoral letter earlier this year, I observed that “The Church has consistently called us to move beyond self-preservation and embrace a missionary way of being Church, rooted in listening to the Word of God and the signs of the times, in shared responsibility, and a communal openness to the Holy Spirit.” This is what pastoral conversion means concretely: an openness to growth and change, guided by the Holy Spirit, that allows us to carry out more effectively the mission entrusted to us by Jesus. Saints Peter and Paul could easily serve as patronal saints for this initiative because their experiences of pastoral conversion and their witness to Jesus Christ our Redeemer were transformative for them as individuals and for the Universal Church.
A “pallium” is a woolen band worn over the shoulders as a sign of an archbishop’s metropolitan office and communion with the pope. Traditionally, newly appointed archbishops receive the pallium on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. In the years since I received my pallium as Metropolitan Archbishop of Newark, I have come to know and love you more deeply as the Catholic people of this great archdiocese and our sister dioceses here in New Jersey.
Inspired by the example of these two great saints, Peter and Paul, I want to be open to the Holy Spirit and to discover what God is calling us to be and do right here and now. To succeed, I must acknowledge my weaknesses, prejudices, and fears so I can let them go and allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through me.
One thing is clear: My mission is a shared responsibility. Without the grace of God and the prayerful support and help I receive from you and many others, I can do nothing.
May these two great saints, Peter and Paul, unofficial patrons of We Are His Witnesses, serve as examples for all of us as we accept the challenge to become Spirit-filled evangelizers and missionaries for Christ!
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Newark
A Message from Pope Leo XIV: In the One Christ, We are One
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today we celebrate two brothers in faith, Peter and Paul, whom we honour as pillars of the Church and venerate as patrons of the diocese and city of Rome.
The story of these two Apostles has much to say to us, the community of the Lord’s disciples, as we make our pilgrim way in today’s world. Upon reflection, I would like to emphasize two specific aspects of their faith: ecclesial communion and the vitality of faith.
First, ecclesial communion. Today’s liturgy reminds us how Peter and Paul were called to share a single fate, that of martyrdom, which united them definitively to Christ. In the first reading, we see Peter in prison awaiting judgment (cf. Acts 12:1-11). In the second reading, the Apostle Paul, also in chains, tells us, in a kind of last will and testament, that his blood is about to be poured out and offered to God (cf. 2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18). Peter and Paul were both ready to lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel.
Yet this communion of the two Apostles in the one confession of faith was the conclusion of a long journey on which each embraced the faith and lived out his apostolate in his own particular way. Their brotherhood in the Spirit did not erase their different backgrounds. Simon was a fisherman from Galilee, while Saul was highly educated and a member of the party of the Pharisees. Peter immediately left everything to follow the Lord, while Paul persecuted Christians before his life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. Peter preached mainly to the Jews, whereas Paul was driven to bring the Good News to the gentiles.
As we know, the two were at odds over the proper way to deal with gentile converts, so much so that Paul tells us that, “when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned” (Gal 2:11). At the Council of Jerusalem, the two Apostles would once more debate the issue.
Dear friends, the history of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone’s freedom. Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from living the concordia apostolorum, that is, a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity. As Saint Augustine remarks, “the feast of the two Apostles is celebrated on one day. They too were one. For although they were martyred on different days, they were one” (Serm. 295, 7.7).
All this invites us to reflect on the nature of ecclesial communion. Awakened by the inspiration of the Spirit, it unites differences and builds bridges of unity thanks to the rich variety of charisms, gifts and ministries. It is important that we learn to experience communion in this way — as unity within diversity — so that the various gifts, united in the one confession of faith, may advance the preaching of the Gospel. We are called to persevere along this path, following the example of Peter and Paul, since all of us need that kind of fraternity. The whole Church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the Pope. Fraternity is also needed in pastoral care, ecumenical dialogue and the friendly relations that the Church desires to maintain with the world. Let us make an effort, then, to turn our differences into a workshop of unity and communion, of fraternity and reconciliation, so that everyone in the Church, each with his or her personal history, may learn to walk side by side.
Saints Peter and Paul also challenge us to think about the vitality of our faith. In our life as disciples, we can always risk falling into a rut, a routine, a tendency to follow the same old pastoral plans without experiencing interior renewal and a willingness to respond to new challenges. The two Apostles, however, can inspire us by the example of their openness to change, to new events, encounters and concrete situations in the life of their communities, and by their readiness to consider new approaches to evangelization in response to the problems and difficulties raised by our brothers and sisters in the faith.
At the heart of today’s Gospel lies the question that Jesus asked his disciples. Today he asks us that same question, challenging us to examine whether our faith life retains its energy and vitality, and whether the flame of our relationship with the Lord still burns bright: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15).
Every day, at every moment in history, we must always take this question to heart. If we want to keep our identity as Christians from being reduced to a relic of the past, as Pope Francis often reminded us, it is important to move beyond a tired and stagnant faith. We need to ask ourselves: Who is Jesus Christ for us today? What place does he occupy in our lives and in the life of the Church? How can we bear witness to this hope in our daily lives and proclaim it to those whom we meet?
Dear brothers and sisters, strengthened by the witness of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, let us walk together in faith and communion and invoke their intercession upon ourselves, the city of Rome, the Church, and the whole world.
(A selection from the homily of Pope Leo XIV, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 2025.)
My Prayer for You
Please join me in this prayer of intercession to Saints Peter and Paul:
O holy Apostles, Peter and Paul,
We choose you this day to be special patrons and advocates for our archdiocese’s pastoral initiative We Are His Witnesses.
St. Peter, first among the Apostles, you are the rock upon which Christ our Lord has built His Church.
St. Paul, zealous preacher of truth to the whole world, obtain for us a lively faith, a firm hope, and perfect charity.
Missionary disciples of Jesus, help us in all humility to imitate your courage, patience, and complete devotion to God’s holy will. Guide our steps in everyday life so that we too may be zealous advocates and faithful witnesses to Christ. Protect the Church, strengthen the foundation of faith in our families, parish communities, and archdiocesan ministries, and lead us all closer to Jesus.
Through your intercession, may we experience pastoral conversion in our personal lives and in our faith communities. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Amen.