Celebrating the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle

Each year on February 22, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle. At first glance, this feast might seem unusual. Why celebrate a chair? Yet this beautiful and ancient feast invites us to reflect on something far deeper than furniture, it honors the spiritual authority and pastoral mission entrusted by Christ to St. Peter, and continued through his successors.

For us at MaterCare, this feast carries special meaning. It reminds us of our unity with the Holy Father and the Church’s enduring mission to protect life, uphold human dignity, and serve the most vulnerable—especially mothers and their unborn children.

The “chair” (cathedra in Latin) symbolizes teaching authority. When we speak of the Pope’s cathedral, we are referring to the church that contains his cathedra, the seat from which he shepherds the faithful as Bishop of Rome.

In the Gospel of Matthew (16:18–19), Jesus says:

“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.”

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter honors the role given by Christ to Peter as the visible head of the Church on earth. It celebrates not Peter’s personal greatness, but Christ’s faithfulness in guiding His Church through human instruments.

One of the most powerful artistic representations of this feast is found in the apse of St. Peter's Basilica. The great bronze sculpture of the Chair of St. Peter, created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, enshrines an ancient wooden chair traditionally associated with the Apostle.

The authority symbolized by Peter’s chair is not worldly power. It is the authority of service.

Jesus told Peter three times: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–17). Leadership in the Church is always pastoral; it exists to protect, guide, and nourish.

At MaterCare, we see this servant leadership reflected in the daily sacrifices of healthcare professionals who accompany women through pregnancy, childbirth, and crisis. Just as Peter was entrusted with the care of souls, those who serve in maternal healthcare are entrusted with the care of both mother and child, two patients, equal in dignity and worthy of compassionate care.

This September, MaterCare will gather in Rome for our international conference, an opportunity to deepen our commitment to ethical maternal healthcare in communion with the Church.

There is something profoundly meaningful about meeting in the very city where St. Peter gave his life for Christ, and where his successor continues to shepherd the universal Church. To reflect together beneath the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, and to stand before Bernini’s magnificent Chair of St. Peter, is to be reminded that our work is not merely medical, it is ecclesial. It is part of the Church’s living mission.

Just as the Chair symbolizes unity in truth and charity, our Rome Conference will unite physicians, midwives, healthcare professionals, clergy, and lay collaborators from around the world in a shared commitment to life.

We warmly invite you to join us in Rome this September. Come pray where Peter prayed. Come learn, collaborate, and renew your mission in the heart of the Church. Let us gather in unity, standing, quite literally, upon the rock.

On this feast day, we are invited to pray for the Holy Father, for bishops throughout the world, and for all who exercise leadership in the Church. We also pray for courage; courage to remain faithful, compassionate, and steadfast in defending mothers and children.

May the intercession of St. Peter strengthen our mission. May we serve with humility. May we remain united in faith and hope. And may we gather this September in Rome, united beneath the Chair that has guided the Church for two millennia, renewing our commitment to serve mothers and their children with fidelity, compassion, and unwavering faith.

St. Peter, pray for us.