Chair of St. Peter, February 22: Meaning and Prayer

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, on February 22, celebrates the authority and mission Christ entrusted to St. Peter and his successors, the bishops of Rome, to teach, govern and sanctify the Church. The “chair” (in Latin cathedra) is the symbol of a bishop’s teaching office, the same word that gives us “cathedral.” In 2027 the feast falls on Monday, February 22. Below are the meaning of the feast, the famous chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, the history of the two old feasts of the Chair, and prayers for the Pope.

What the Chair of Peter means

The feast is not about a piece of furniture but about what it stands for: the office of teaching and shepherding that Christ gave to Peter. At Caesarea Philippi, after Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus said to him:

And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

After the Resurrection, Jesus three times entrusted his flock to Peter: “Feed my lambs… feed my sheep” (John 21:15–17). The Church believes that this ministry continues in the bishops of Rome, the successors of Peter, as a visible principle of unity for the whole Church. See St. Peter.

The Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica

At the far end of St. Peter’s Basilica, beneath the famous window of the Holy Spirit, Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s great bronze monument (completed in 1666) encloses an ancient wooden chair, venerated by tradition as Peter’s chair. It is held up by four Doctors of the Church, Ambrose and Augustine for the West and Athanasius and John Chrysostom for the East, a sign that the faith Peter guards is the faith of the whole Church. Studies of the wood suggest that the chair itself dates in large part from the ninth century, a gift of the Emperor Charles the Bald, but it has long stood as a symbol of Peter’s teaching office.

History of the feast

Rome celebrated the “Chair of Peter” on February 22 as early as the fourth century, possibly replacing a pagan festival for the dead held at the same time of year. Later two feasts developed: the Chair of Peter at Rome on January 18 and the Chair of Peter at Antioch on February 22, recalling that Peter first led the Church at Antioch before coming to Rome. In 1960 the two were combined into the single feast of February 22.

The prayer of the feast

The Collect for the Chair of St. Peter in the traditional Roman Missal:

O God, who, together with the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven didst bestow on blessed Peter thy Apostle the pontificate of binding and loosing, grant that by the aid of his intercession we may be released from the yoke of our sins. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.

A prayer for the Pope

Written for this page:

Lord Jesus, you built your Church on the rock of Peter and promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.
Strengthen our Holy Father, Pope Leo, the successor of Peter.
Give him wisdom to teach, courage to lead and love to serve,
and keep the whole Church united in faith and charity. Amen.

More prayers are on the prayer for the Pope page.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter?

February 22. In 2027 it falls on a Monday.

Is the Chair of St. Peter a real chair?

There is an ancient wooden chair enclosed in Bernini’s monument in St. Peter’s Basilica, venerated as Peter’s chair. But the feast celebrates Peter’s teaching authority, which the chair symbolizes.

Why is it called a chair?

In the ancient world a teacher sat to teach, and a bishop’s chair (cathedra) in his cathedral is the sign of his authority to teach. When the Pope teaches solemnly, we say he speaks ex cathedra, “from the chair.”

Is the Chair of St. Peter a holy day of obligation?

No. It is a feast, but not a day of obligation.

Texts and sources

Matthew 16:18–19 and John 21:15–17 (Douay-Rheims).
Collect: The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916 daily missal), Chair of St. Peter at Rome (January 18), public domain (archive.org). OCR errors corrected.

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter (February 22): Meaning, History and Prayer