Saints Peter and Paul are the principle pillars of the Church founded by Christ. Saint Peter was chosen by Christ to be leader of apostles after Christ’s Ascension; it was through Peter that Christ endowed the Church with the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:13-19). Peter was charged by the Risen Christ with the role of shepherd of Christ’s flock (Jn 21:15-17). The Roman Catholic Church considers St. Peter to have been the first Pope and all Bishops of Rome to be his successors. St. Peter suffered martyrdom under Nero, in about the year 64 a.d. Tradition asserts that he was buried at the hill of the Vatican, and recent excavations have revealed what is believed to be his tomb underneath St. Peter’s Basilica.
Saint Paul was chosen to form part of the apostolic college by Christ himself on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-16). Selected to bring Christ’s name to all peoples (Acts 9:15), he is the greatest missionary of all time, the advocate of pagans, the Apostle of the Gentiles. St. Paul was beheaded in the Tre Fontane along the Via Ostiense and buried nearby, according to tradition on the site where a basilica bearing his name now stands.