Today as we celebrate the feast of the Chair of St Peter, Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (16: 13-19) in which Simon-Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Fr Paul says that even though today’s feast is called ‘The Chair of St Peter’, it is not a chair or a piece of furniture we are celebrating. He notes that this feast has been celebrated in Rome since at least the 4th Century and it signifies the unity of the Church founded upon the apostles. Hence, today’s reading… ‘you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church’.The mention of the word ‘chair’ symbolises the authority of St Peter and all his successors, all the other Popes, who have served the Church for over 2,000 years.  It also symbolises the unity that the Pope continues to bring to the world-wide church. Fr Paul says on this day, as we’ve done since the early 4th Century, we celebrate this feast of the Chair of St Peter and we pray for the Pope and for the unity of the Church.