The Chair of St Peter . . .

Tuesday is the feast of the Chair of St Peter. A recurrent theme on this blog is looking at Feast Days, Devotions and Catholic practices through the eyes of someone who was not brought up in the Catholic faith.

Of course the Chair in question, and in the photograph, may traditionally be thought to be the original chair used by the first Bishop of Rome but the Chair of a Bishop is not just a rather fancy chair that he sits in but it also has a symbolic meaning too. It represents his authority and is to be found in the Cathedral of his Diocese. That's of course where we get the name Cathedral from.

The Chair of St Peter therefore is a symbol of the authority of the first Bishop of Rome, the apostle Peter, and his successors the Popes including our current Pope, Benedict XVI.

To celebrate the "Chair" of Peter, as we do today, means, therefore, to attribute to it a strong spiritual significance and to recognise in it a privileged sign of the love of God, good and eternal Shepherd, who wants to gather the whole of his Church and guide her along the way of salvation. (Pope Benedict XVI on the Feast of the Chair of St Peter, 22nd February 2006)

Another useful point of reference is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

882. "The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, 'is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.'[LG 23.] 'For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered.".

Almighty God,
as you built your Church on the
rock of St Peter's faith,
grant that with such a firm foundation
we may hold fast in every storm.