Dear brothers and sisters,

In the coming days, we will be celebrating four Saints, or to be more specific, two pairs of Saints. Two are local to this country, Saints John Fisher and Thomas More who are to be celebrated together on 22 June, and two are universal, Saints Peter and Paul, also celebrated together on 28 June. All four in their own specific and personal way, have given their lives to the Lord to the end. They not only had a personal encounter with the Lord and had a personal relationship with Him, thereby transforming their entire lives. But they also gave their lives for the Church, believing that God is fully at work in the Church. But why are they celebrated together, as pairs? Is it only because they were good friends or peers?

Saints Peter and Paul, on the one side, are referred to as two pillars of the Church. The Lord made use of them both to build the Church during its unique foundation period. Their paths were very different, as well as their characters, temperaments and points of view. The Lord asked much to both of them, nothing less than everything, and today some 2000 years later, we still celebrate them. Not only are they celebrated, but together, as if the Church wanted to point out that one was not enough; both were needed for the Lord to complete his foundation work of the Church.

The second pair is local to this country and just as Saints Peter and Paul, they knew each other and one inspired the other. Despite their different paths and journeys, they both ended up giving up their lives and were beheaded: Saint Thomas More was a lawyer, married and a father, while Saint John Fisher was the Bishop of Rochester. Resisting in face of adversity and refusing to sign the succession, both preferred to remain faithful to the Church. Far from being naïve and fully aware of the weaknesses of the Church, they rather chose to put their full trust in God, knowing that God is the one leading his flock and his Church. Celebrating their memorial together not only commemorates the historical aspect of their stories but more importantly, their shared trust in God alone who leads his people.