Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

Dowry of Mary at the Heart of the Nation :

On this feast in 1893, "the bishops of England and Wales, in response to the wishes of the Pope, consecrated England to the Mother of God and St Peter in the Oratory Church

The incumbent Archbishop of Westminster in the same place

in London. The action was a direct result of an audience with Pope Leo XIII in which he recalled that this country had long been known as Our Lady's Dowry, thereby giving papal approval to what had been a hallowed tradition and instigating an act not without significance for our own time."

Saints Peter and Paul in the Marmertine Prison.

The Mamertine Prison consists of two gloomy underground cells where Rome's vanquished enemies were imprisoned and usually died, of either starvation or strangulation. Famous prisoners here include the Goth Jugurtha, the indomitable Gaul Vercingetorix and, according to legend, St. Peter. There is no archaeological evidence or early written account that Peter was here, but the legend had taken root by the 5th century and the prison attracted early pilgrims. It remains a pilgrimage site today and a church, San Giuseppe dei Falegnami, now stands over the prison.