St Peter the Apostle—29th June. St Peter, the head of Christ’s originalapostles was born originally, son of John in Bethsaida, he worked along side his brother Andrew who was also an apostle as a fisherman by Lake Genesareth. According to St Johns Gospel it was Andrew that first introduced Peter to Jesus , who then gave Simon the name ,Cephas,Peter meaning the» rock» , saying that Peter would be the rock upon which his church on earth would be built and later that Peter would be given the» Keys of the Kingdom of heaven.» It is upon this foundation that the Catholic Church’sthe supremacy of the papacy,linefromPeter asbishop of Rome is based.Peter was intimately connected with Jesus in the Gospelsis featured more than any other disciple, as head of the Church he wasfirst to preach in and around Jerusalemhe established a Christian community. Peterthe first apostle recorded to performmiracle,the healing of the lame man at the Beautifulof Jerusalem,in Acts. He was also said to have been freed by an angel when he was imprisoned by Herod Agrippa inn AD 43.then travelled further a field to Samaria and Antioch spreading the Good News of the Gospel and converting many Gentiles.Peter travelled to Rome where he became the firstand established his Holy. It was here in Rome in AD 65he was martyred for his faith and crucified upside down, he is now buried under Saint Peters Basilica in.
St. Paul – 29th June. Paul was born in Tarsus around AD 5 in to a Jewish family of Pharisees descended from the tribe of Benjamin and was originally named Saul.a young man hededicated to persecuting Christians relentlessly ,his main concern was for the strict application of the Jewishand he was believed to be a complicit spectator at the stoning of St Stephen.he was on the road to Damascus intent on the persecution of the nascent Church he experienced a vision of the risen Christ, experiencing an inner conversion he dedicated the rest oflifewitness to Jesus.a fire in his heart fortravelled on three majorJourneys preaching the Gospel, converting many he became known as the «Apostle of the Gentiles». Pauls evangelistic energy and the conviction with which he preached helped to establish the Church in Asia Minor and Europe.Eventually he travelled to Rome where he was placed under housearrest for 2 years.Testamentbear his name ,many of which were written in captivity. He was martyred outside the city of Rome in AD 67 by decapitation and is buried near the present Roman basilica in honour of St Paul.
St Thomas the Apostle – 3rd July. Thomas was one of the original 12 apostles of Jesus, he was of Jewish descent most likely to have been born in Galilee. Thomas is often referred to as «Doubting Thomas» because he failed to recognise the risen Christ until he had placed his fingers in His wounds, his doubt was followed with the words» my Lord, My God» , which was the first confession of Christ’s divinity after his resurrection .St John mentions Thomas several times in his, although he is impetuous Thomas is genuinely dedicated to Jesus declaring himself ready to die with him at the raising of Lazerus Jn. 11.16. Eusebius states that he went on to establish the Church at Parthia but a more prevalent tradition holds that he preached in Indiaheattributed with the title» Apostle of India.» Thomas carried the faith to the Malabar coast which still boasts a large native population who call themselves «Christians of St Thomas». St Ephrem the Syrian states that St Thomas was martyred in India with a spear.of his relics were transported to Endessaa few still remain inIndiathe San Thomas basilica in Chennai Mylapore.
