Peter’s Pence is the name given to the financial support offered by the faithful to the Holy Father as a sign of their sharing in the concern of the Successor of Peter for the many different needs of the Universal Church and for the relief of those most in need.

In recent times this support has gone to people in Ukraine, Lithuania, Tanzania, the Philippines, Iraq,  Haiti, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Brazil among other countries.

At Masses across the Diocese on 29th and 30th June 2024, there will be a leaving collection to support this important work. The Holy Father said in a message for Peter’s Pence this year: “… we have as Father a God who opens his house to all human beings, beginning with the least and the most distant, so that as his children we may learn to console and support one another.”

You can donate to this year’s Peter’s Pence appeal HERE.

Saint Peter died between AD 64 and 68 on the Vatican Hill. Also known as Peter the Apostle, Peter the Rock, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon or Cephas, he was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and one of the first leaders of the early Church. Based on contemporary historical data, his papacy is estimated to have spanned from AD 30 to his death, which would make him the longest-reigning pope at anywhere from 34 to 38 years, however the length of his reign was never verified.

Image: Saint Peter, by Peter Paul Rubens