For centuries, the Church has honored Saints Peter and Paul together on this day. Peter and Paul — so different in temperament, in background, in the way they came to faith — are honored together on June 29 because they gave their lives for the same Lord, in the same city, under the same emperor. This novena draws from their lives, their failures, their conversions, and their witness. Bring your own failures and your own faith to these nine days.
Historical Context: The Twin Pillars of Rome
The joint feast of Saints Peter and Paul is one of the oldest in the Catholic liturgical calendar, attested since at least the third century. Both apostles were martyred in Rome under Emperor Nero, around 64–68 AD. Peter was crucified upside down on the Vatican Hill — at his own request, feeling unworthy to die as Christ had died. Paul was beheaded on the Ostian Way, outside the city walls, as a Roman citizen entitled to a less shameful death.
Their tombs became the centers of Christian Rome. The Basilica of Saint Peter was built over Peter’s grave; the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls over Paul’s. Both have been places of pilgrimage since the early Church.
Together they represent the two great movements of the apostolic mission: Peter, the rock on whom Christ built His Church, the shepherd of the first community in Jerusalem and Rome; and Paul, the missionary who carried the Gospel to the ends of the known world, whose letters remain central to the New Testament.
Why Pray This Novena?
This novena is especially powerful for:
- The unity and strength of the Catholic Church
- The Pope and all Church leadership
- Missionaries and those who preach the Gospel
- Those who have failed in faith and need restoration — as Peter was restored
- Those who have been far from God and need conversion — as Paul was converted
- Courage to live and speak the faith publicly
- Preparation for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul — June 29
- Those returning to the sacraments after time away from the Church
How to Pray the Novena
Begin on June 20 to finish on June 28, the eve of their feast. Or pray it at any time of year for Church unity, courage, and fidelity.
- Begin with the Sign of the Cross
- Read the Scripture passage for the day slowly
- Pray the prayer for the day
- Conclude with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be
- Ask Saints Peter and Paul to intercede for your specific intention
Novena Prayers — Day by Day
Day 1 — “You Are Peter”: The Call
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” — Matthew 16:18
Simon was a fisherman. He had no theological training, no position of influence, no particular reason to be chosen. Jesus looked at him and saw something else — not what he was, but what he would become. He renamed him. He gave him a mission before he was ready for it. And He built His Church on him anyway.
Lord Jesus, You call the unlikely and the unprepared. You see in us what we cannot yet see in ourselves. As You called Simon and made him Peter, call me by name today. Show me the mission You have prepared for me — not the one I would have chosen, but the one You see when You look at me. Give me the courage to say yes, even before I feel ready.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 2 — The Denial and the Tears
“And he went out and wept bitterly.” — Matthew 26:75
Peter denied Christ three times — not in secret, but publicly, around a fire, to servants and bystanders. He had promised he would never deny Him. He did it anyway. And when the cock crowed, he remembered. He went out and wept bitterly. This is not a story of a weak man. It is a story of a man who fell and did not run away from his failure — he wept, he returned, and he was there on Easter morning.
Lord Jesus, I have denied You too — in my silences, in my compromises, in the moments I chose comfort over truth. Like Peter, I have promised more than I delivered. Do not let my failures be the final word. Let them be, as they were for Peter, the beginning of a deeper humility and a more honest love. Meet me in my failure, Lord, as You met Peter in his.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 3 — “Do You Love Me?”: The Restoration
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” — John 21:17
Three times Peter had denied. Three times Jesus asked: Do you love me? Not to punish him, but to restore him — once for each denial, a new commission replacing each betrayal. Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Follow me. Jesus did not pretend the denial had not happened. He addressed it directly, tenderly, and completely. Peter was not demoted. He was confirmed.
Lord Jesus, You restore what we break. You do not pretend our failures did not happen — You address them, tenderly, and give us back our mission. Ask me today: do I love You? Let my answer be honest. And where my love is weak or wounded, strengthen it. Commission me again, as You commissioned Peter, to serve those You have placed in my life.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 4 — The Road to Damascus: Conversion
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” — Acts 9:4
Paul was not drifting away from God. He was actively persecuting the Church — dragging Christians from their homes, consenting to their deaths, certain he was doing God’s will. And then the light. And then the voice. And then three days of blindness that became the beginning of sight. The most hostile enemy of the Church became its greatest missionary. No one is beyond conversion. No one.
Lord Jesus, You stopped Paul on the road to Damascus when he was going the wrong direction entirely. You can stop me too. Where I am certain I am right but am actually wrong — open my eyes. Where I have been hostile to Your grace — disarm me. Where the people I have hurt need my conversion before they can believe — convert me first. Nothing is impossible for You.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 5 — Humility: The Rock Who Needed Correction
“I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” — Galatians 2:11
Paul corrected Peter publicly in Antioch — because Peter, out of fear of Jewish Christians, had stopped eating with Gentile converts. The first Pope needed correction. He received it. This is not a story of institutional failure. It is a story of the humility that makes institutions holy: a leader who can be corrected, and a brother who loves enough to correct him.
Lord Jesus, give me the humility to receive correction. Where I have been wrong — even in matters of faith and practice — let me be open to the truth, even when it comes from an unexpected source. And give me the courage, when necessary, to speak the truth to those I love, as Paul spoke it to Peter — not to wound, but to restore.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 6 — “No Longer I, But Christ”
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” — Galatians 2:20
Paul had been someone before Damascus. He had credentials, training, status, a clear identity. He gave it all up — not because it was worthless, but because he had found something worth infinitely more. The self that remained after conversion was not destroyed. It was transformed. He still had his intelligence, his passion, his intensity. But now they were entirely at the service of Christ.
Lord Jesus, let me decrease so that You may increase. Not by destroying what I am, but by placing everything I am at Your disposal. My gifts, my failures, my history, my wounds — take all of it. Transform it. Use it. Let the life I live from this day forward be lived not for myself, but in faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 7 — The Unity of the Church
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” — Galatians 3:28
Peter and Paul were not identical. They came from different backgrounds and sometimes approached challenges differently. They represented different temperaments and different emphases within the same faith. And yet the Church celebrates them together — because unity does not require uniformity. It requires the same Lord, the same faith, the same baptism, and the willingness to remain in communion even when disagreement is real.
Lord Jesus, I pray today for the unity of Your Church. For the Pope, for bishops, for all who lead. For the divisions that wound us — between traditions, between generations, between those who emphasize different truths of the same faith. Give us the humility of Peter and the passion of Paul — and the love that holds them together.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 8 — Faithful to the End: The Martyrdom
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7
Paul wrote these words from prison, knowing he was about to die. He did not write them with bitterness or regret. He wrote them with the calm of a man who had given everything and had poured out his life completely in service to Christ. Peter died the same way — upside down on a cross, outside the city walls, in the same city where he had once denied Christ around a fire. Both of them finished what they started. Neither of them ran.
Lord Jesus, give me the fidelity of Peter and Paul — not only when faith is easy and public, but in the hidden moments of darkness and difficulty. If faithfulness costs me something — comfort, reputation, security — give me the grace to pay that price. Let me finish what You have started in me. Let me keep the faith.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
Day 9 — Their Intercession for the Church Today
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” — Matthew 16:18
The Church they built is still here. Twenty centuries later, in every country on earth, in hundreds of languages, the same faith they died for is still being prayed, still being preached, still being lived. The gates of hell have not prevailed. They will not prevail. Peter and Paul stand before the throne of God as witnesses to this promise — and they intercede for the Church they gave their lives to build.
Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul, strengthen Your Church today. Protect the Pope. Give courage to those who preach the Gospel in hostile places. Restore those who have wandered. Convert those who persecute. And receive the intention I have carried through this novena: [mention your intention here]. I place it in the hands of the two men who placed everything in Yours.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
About Saints Peter and Paul
Saint Peter — born Simon, a fisherman from Bethsaida — was chosen by Jesus as the leader of the Twelve Apostles. He was the first to confess Jesus as the Christ, the first to enter the empty tomb, and the first Pope of the Church in Rome. His feast day is June 29.
Saint Paul — born Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee and Roman citizen — was converted on the road to Damascus and became the Apostle to the Gentiles. He founded churches across the Mediterranean world and wrote thirteen letters that form a large part of the New Testament. His feast day is also June 29.
Both were martyred in Rome under Emperor Nero. Together they are venerated as the twin pillars of the Church — the one who knew Jesus in the flesh, and the one who met Him in a blinding light.
Related Devotions
- Prayer to Saints Peter and Paul — A short Catholic prayer for courage and Church unity
- Prayer to Saint Paul for Conversion — For those far from faith
- Novena to Saint John the Baptist — Another great witness who prepared the way
- Catholic Prayer for Impossible Situations — When you need God to intervene
Frequently Asked Questions
June 29, every year. It is a solemnity and a holy day of obligation in many countries.
Saints Peter and Paul show that God can work through every kind of person. Peter teaches us that failure is not the end when we return to Christ with humility and repentance. Paul teaches us that no one is beyond conversion and that God’s grace can transform even the most unlikely heart. Together, they remind us to remain faithful to Christ, courageous in our witness, and united in the life of the Church.
Saint Peter is buried beneath the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City. Saint Paul is buried beneath the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Both tombs have been venerated since the early Church.
According to early Christian tradition, Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus Christ. This act is seen as a final expression of his humility.
