Welcome to this beautiful small church.
Its official name is the Church of St Mary in Palmis, but it's now more known as the
Church of Domine Quo Vadis.
This church, built next to the Appian Way, has a long and intriguing history.
The legend has it this was the spot where Saint Peter, who was fleeing Rome to escape
persecution, had a vision of a risen Christ.
According to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, Peter asked Jesus; "Domine, quo vadis ?" meaning
"Lord, where are you going?".
Jesus answered; "I am going to Rome to be crucified again".
This made Peter turn around, go back to Rome and face his martyrdom.
Evidence suggests a strong presence of the Apostle Peter in this area, not only because
it was here he met Jesus.
This was also the area where he is supposed to have lived.
An epigraph found in the catacombs of Saint Sebastian supports this as it says, "Domus
Petri" -- meaning "the House of Peter".
An epigram by Pope Damasus I from the 4th century honors St. Peter and St. Paul and
further strengthens the belief that this was the area where the apostles lived.
It reads: "You that are looking for the names of Peter and Paul, you must know that the
saints have lived here".
There are indications that this site has been a place for holy worship before this church
was built and even prior to the legend of St. Peter and Jesus.
This church in fact located just in front of an ancient sacred Campus, dedicated to
the Roman God Rediculus -- not to be confused with the word "ridiculous".
His name derives from the Latin verb "redire", meaning "to come back" and he was known as
the God of Return.
The fact that the sanctuary of Rediculus was located here, along the Appian Way, was no
coincidence.
The road was the most important one of all Roman roads and was the road travelers going
south or east took.
Journeys to distant places like Egypt, Greece or the Far East were often dangerous and not
all would return from their voyage.
This site was the last place where you get a good glimpse of Rome behind you, so the
travelers stopped here and prayed to Rediculus that they would return to see Rome once again.
The first Christian building on the site was a small church, built in the 9th century on
the basis of the St. Peter's legend.
The current church was however built in year 1637 and the current façade was added later
in the 17th century.
Very little is known about the original 9th century church - the Church of St Mary in
Palmis.
The word "palmis" does however stand for the soles of Jesus' feet.
Inside the church you can find two footprints on a marble stone which would be a miraculous
sign left by Jesus when he appeared before Peter.
The stone you can see inside this church is only a replica, as the real stone is kept
safely in the Relics Chapel at the nearby Basilica of San Sebastiano.
There used to be an inscription on the front façade of the church, telling travelers to
stop walking and instead enter this sacred temple, as it is the place where St. Peter
met Jesus.
However, Pope Gregory the 16th found it inappropriate, almost as a kind of advertisement, in which
he ordered it to be removed in 1845.
Today's façade inscription, right about the main entrance, is more modest.
If you look at the inscription, you can see "D.O.M", which reads Dominus Optimis Maximus,
meaning "Father All Mighty".
Below it you can read a Latin phrase meaning "It was here Peter asked Jesus; Lord, where
are you going?"
Despite the small size of the church, it still holds a very special place in the Christian
hearts.
In 1983, Pope John Paul the 2nd further emphasized this when he defined the church as "a place
that has a special importance in the history of Rome and in the history of the Church".