After Fr Paul reads from today’s Gospel from Matthew (16: 13-19) in which Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah, he shares a little about the feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle, which we celebrate today.

Fr Paul says, it might seem a bit funny to have a feast for a chair, but this feast has been celebrated in Rome since at least the 4th Century. If you find yourself in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome against the furthest wall there is a heroic-sized sculpture featuring a chair, which is the focus of the sculpture. To celebrate the Chair of St Peter is purely and simply to celebrate the unity of the Church.

So today, Fr Paul says, mindful of all the other churches in our country and around our world we celebrate in unity this feast of the Chair of St Peter.