Was Peter Ever in Rome?

October 18, 2026

"The Bible never says Peter went to Rome. The papacy is built on a legend." If that is true, the bishop of Rome is not St. Peter's successor.

Short answer: Yes. St. Peter writes from "Babylon," the early Christian code name for Rome, with St. Mark at his side. Jesus foretold his martyrdom, and every early Christian writer who tells us where it happened names Rome. By about AD 200, Roman Christians were pointing to his memorial on the Vatican hill.

Key verses on St. Peter in Rome

"The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son." (1 Peter 5:13)
"Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth." (Revelation 17:5)
"The woman whom you saw represents the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18)
"when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." (John 21:18)
"He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God." (John 21:19)

What Catholics Actually Teach

The Church teaches that Christ made St. Peter the visible head of the apostles and that the bishop of Rome succeeds him in that office. "The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor" is "the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful" (CCC 882). That succession runs through Rome because St. Peter died there. For the biblical case for St. Peter's office itself, see Is the Papacy in the Bible?

What Catholics do not teach:

That the Bible spells out "Peter lived in Rome." The case rests on Scripture read in context plus early, independent witnesses.
That St. Peter was the first to bring the gospel to Rome. Christians were already there when St. Paul arrived (Acts 28:15), and their faith was "heralded throughout the world" (Romans 1:8).
That every later detail is certain. Dates, length of stay, and the identification of his bones are historical questions.

The Biblical Case

1. St. Peter writes from "Babylon"

St. Peter closes his first letter: "The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son" (1 Peter 5:13). "The chosen one" is feminine in Greek and refers to a Church. The NABRE's own note calls Babylon "the code name for Rome in Rev 14:8; 17:5; 18:2."

Why a code name? Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and exiled God's people. To Christians he calls "sojourners of the dispersion" (1 Peter 1:1), the imperial capital is "Babylon."

2. The New Testament uses "Babylon" for Rome

Revelation shows what "Babylon" meant to first-century Christians. The harlot bears the name "Babylon the great" (Revelation 17:5). The angel explains: "The seven heads represent seven hills upon which the woman sits" (Revelation 17:9), and she "represents the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 17:18). In the first century, only one city ruled the kings of the earth from seven hills: Rome. The NABRE note on 17:9 says simply: "Seven hills: of Rome."

3. St. Mark is with him

St. Peter names St. Mark as his companion. St. Mark also appears with the imprisoned St. Paul (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11). The NABRE note on 1 Peter 5:13 describes St. Mark as "traditionally a prominent disciple of Peter and co-worker at the church in Rome."

4. Jesus foretold St. Peter's martyrdom

"Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." St. John adds: "He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God" (John 21:18–19). The NABRE note calls the image "a figurative reference to the crucifixion of Peter." St. Peter knew it too: "I know that I will soon have to put it aside, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me" (2 Peter 1:14).

Scripture foretells St. Peter's martyrdom but does not name the place. History does. And St. Peter traveled: after his escape from prison he "left and went to another place" (Acts 12:17), and he was known as far away as Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:12).

Objections Answered

(a) "Babylon means Babylon."

At its strongest: Read the text plainly. St. Peter was the apostle "to the circumcised" (Galatians 2:7), and Mesopotamia had a large Jewish community. Why assume a code word in a simple greeting?

Answer: Because the New Testament itself uses the code. Revelation identifies "Babylon" as the seven-hilled city that rules the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:9, 18). St. Mark, who is with St. Peter, is linked with Rome, not Mesopotamia. And no early Christian writer places St. Peter's ministry or death in Mesopotamia.

(b) "Paul's letter to Rome never greets Peter, and Acts never puts him there."

At its strongest: St. Paul greets about two dozen people by name in Romans 16, yet not St. Peter. Acts ends with St. Paul in Rome for "two full years" (Acts 28:30) and never mentions St. Peter.

Answer: This is an argument from silence. Catholics do not claim St. Peter was in Rome when St. Paul wrote Romans (around the late 50s) or throughout Acts. The claim is that St. Peter ministered and died in Rome, most likely under Nero in the 60s. Acts stops following St. Peter after Acts 15 and ends before either apostle's death. Silence about one period is not testimony against a later arrival.

(c) "The 25-year 'reign' in Rome is a later legend."

At its strongest: St. Jerome, writing in the late fourth century, says St. Peter "held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty-five years." That number is hard to fit with Acts and St. Paul's letters.

Answer: The figure is late, and Catholic teaching does not depend on it. St. Jerome wrote three centuries after the fact. But notice what the objection concedes: even the critic is arguing about how long St. Peter was in Rome, not whether he was there. Catholic teaching rests on his presence and martyrdom in Rome, which are attested far earlier by independent voices in Rome, Antioch, Lyons, Corinth and Carthage. Drop St. Jerome's number, and every one of those witnesses still stands.

(d) "Paul refused to build on another man's foundation, so Peter cannot have founded the Roman church."

At its strongest: St. Paul writes, "Thus I aspire to proclaim the gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another's foundation" (Romans 15:20). Yet he plans to visit Rome. If St. Peter had founded the Church there, St. Paul would have kept away.

Answer: Read the next verses. St. Paul says he does not plan to settle in Rome but to visit it "in passing as I go to Spain" (Romans 15:24). That is exactly how a missionary treats a Church someone else already planted: he greets it and moves on. And the objection proves too much. The Roman Church existed before St. Paul arrived (Romans 1:8; Acts 28:15), so by this logic St. Paul would have avoided Rome no matter who founded it. He went anyway, and the earliest witnesses say both apostles taught and died there. St. Irenaeus names them together as the founders of the Roman Church; Catholics do not need St. Peter to be the first missionary in Rome, only to have ministered and died there, which is what the evidence shows.

The Early Church Agrees

Scripture puts St. Peter in "Babylon" and foretells his martyrdom. The Fathers fill in the place. The witnesses below come from Rome, Antioch, Gaul, Corinth and North Africa. They are independent, they are early, and not one of them names any other city as the place of St. Peter's death.

Pope St. Clement I (St. Clement of Rome) (Letter to the Corinthians 5–6, c. AD 96), writing from Rome a generation after the apostles: "Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours; and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him." He does not name the city, but he sets St. Peter beside St. Paul, who came "to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects," and adds that "a great multitude of the elect" were joined to them (ch. 6). Writing from Rome, he presents both apostles as martyrs his own Church remembers.
St. Ignatius of Antioch (Letter to the Romans 4, c. AD 107), writing to Rome on his way to martyrdom: "I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; I am but a condemned man." Why name St. Peter to the Romans unless he had taught them?
St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Against Heresies 3.1.1 and 3.3.2, c. AD 180): St. Matthew wrote his Gospel "while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church." St. Mark, "the disciple and interpreter of Peter," wrote down St. Peter's preaching. Rome's Church was "founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul."
Gaius (Caius) of Rome (c. AD 200, quoted by Eusebius, Church History 2.25): "But I can show the trophies of the apostles. For if you will go to the Vatican or to the Ostian way, you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundations of this church." Eusebius also records that "Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero," and quotes St. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth (c. AD 170): "they taught together in like manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time."
Tertullian (Prescription Against Heretics 36, c. AD 200) on the Roman Church: "Where Peter endures a passion like his Lord's!"

A note on archaeology. Excavations under St. Peter's Basilica, ordered by Pope Pius XII, uncovered a monument beneath the high altar. In a general audience on June 26, 1968, Pope St. Paul VI linked it to the "trophy" Gaius described and said St. Peter's relics had been identified in a way the Church could consider convincing, while noting that research and debate would continue. That is a judgment of probability, not doctrine.

Conclusion

This is not a late legend. St. Peter writes from "Babylon," Scripture's own code for Rome. Jesus foretold his martyrdom. Within a few generations, Rome's Church spoke of St. Peter as its own, Corinth agreed, Antioch's bishop assumed it, and a Roman Christian could point to his "trophy" on the Vatican hill.

If you are Protestant, weigh these witnesses for yourself. Then ask the next question: if St. Peter's ministry ended in Rome, what does that mean for the Church he left there?

Come home. The Church St. Peter left in Rome, sealed with his blood, is still led by his successor today, and she is the Catholic Church. Christ did not found many churches. He founded one, on St. Peter and the apostles (Matthew 16:18), and that Church is the Catholic Church. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816). If you are a baptized Christian, you already share "a certain, although imperfect, communion" with her (CCC 838). Every truth you already hold is a call to the rest of the way. Christ is calling you into the Catholic Church.

Your next step: Come to Mass this Sunday at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. Everyone is welcome; if you're not yet Catholic, pray with us but don't receive Communion yet. When you're ready to become Catholic, call the parish office and ask about OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. They will walk you through every step. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.

FAQ

Does the Bible say St. Peter was in Rome? Not in those words. St. Peter writes from "Babylon" (1 Peter 5:13), Scripture's code name for Rome (Revelation 17:9, 18).

How did St. Peter die? By crucifixion, as Jesus foretold (John 21:18–19). Eusebius records that he "was crucified under Nero" (Church History 2.25). St. Jerome records the tradition that he was crucified head downward (De Viris Illustribus 1).

Are St. Peter's bones really under St. Peter's Basilica? St. Paul VI judged the identification convincing in 1968. Catholics may weigh that evidence freely; it is not a matter of faith.

Sources

Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Matthew 16:18; John 21:18–19; Acts 12:17; Acts 15; Acts 28:15, 30; Romans 1:8; Romans 15:20, 24; Romans 16; 1 Corinthians 1:12; Galatians 2:7; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24; 1 Peter 1:1; 1 Peter 5:13 (with NABRE note); 2 Peter 1:14; Revelation 17:5, 9, 18 (with NABRE notes).

Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 816, 838; 882.

Church Fathers (newadvent.org): St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians 5–6 (ANF vol. 1); St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans 4 (ANF vol. 1); St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 and 3.3.2 (ANF vol. 1); Eusebius, Church History 2.25 (NPNF2 vol. 1), quoting Gaius and Dionysius of Corinth (ccel.org); Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics 36 (ANF vol. 3, ccel.org); St. Jerome, De Viris Illustribus 1 (NPNF2 vol. 3).

Archaeology (vatican.va): St. Paul VI, General Audience, June 26, 1968 (Italian).

Free pocket guide

Get Ready to Answer

Our free pocket guide: key Bible verses and Catechism references by topic, on one page for your phone.