A Petrine Heritage

Driving up the mountain today with Padre Antonio, O.F.M., the Guardian of the Convento of Santa Maria Occorevole, we talked about the origins of Christianity in this region of Campania. The diocese of Alife is very ancient. The name of a Bishop of Alife appears for the first time among the signatories of the Roman Synod of 499.
According to an unbroken oral tradition none other than Saint Peter himself, the Prince of the Apostles, evangelized Alife on his way to Rome. This means that the See of Alife has Apostolic origins.
This means that the faith I inherited from my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents can, in effect, be traced back to the preaching of Saint Peter. My heartfelt prayer is that the very same Catholic and Apostolic faith may continue to be transmitted whole and entire to all the generations to come, beginning with my precious nephews and nieces.