St Peter's Parish News
Sunday 29 June 2025
Tu es Petrus
On Sunday we celebrate our patronal festival, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. As is our tradition, our choir will sing the motet Tu es Petrus, a setting of Christ’s inspirational words to St Peter in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus offers him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. It was written by the famous Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who was probably born in February 1525 or 1526, so this year we celebrate Palestrina’s 500th birthday! This video is St Peter’s Church Choir singing Tu es Petrus at the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor on Tibidabo, Barcelona in 2019.
“Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram
Aedificabo Ecclesiam meam,
Et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam:
Et tibi dabo claves
Regni coelorum.”
“You are Peter, and on this rock
I will build My church,
And the gates of hell will not prevail against it:
And I will give you the keys
To the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 16:18-19
