A Slice of Smith Life: Chair of St. Peter

Celebrating the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter: February 22

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February 22 is the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, which has been celebrated in Rome since the 4th century. There really is a portable chair preserved at the Vatican and it is believed to be the chair used by St. Peter. The chair is also a symbol of authority, as kings rule from their throne. Jesus chose His apostles as earthly leaders when He told Peter, our first Pope, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." (Matthew 16:18)

We just started celebrating this feast day in 2016 and we celebrated it again in a similar way to continue another A Slice of Liturgical Life tradition.

So the real chair of St. Peter is not made out of tootsie rolls, graham crackers, icing and sprinkles, but the Smith versions do.

Here is a photo of the real chair in the Vatican. Amazing huh?

Photo Credit

To learn more about the story of the Chair of Saint Peter, be sure to listen to the audio and read more information at Franciscan Media.

Allison at Totus Tuus Family and Catholic Homeschooling has a photo she took of the chair in 2011 with even more fascinating information.

For even further reading, read 9 Things You Need to Know About "The Chair of Saint Peter".

So we made our sweet, sugary chairs for the first time last year after I saw it posted at Catholic All Year and when I mentioned that this feast day was coming up my children said, "Oh yeah, that's when we made those cracker chairs!" :)

Perfect, just want I want them to do...to remember our feast day celebrations so that as they grow older they will have these fun, faith-filled liturgical celebrations in their hearts to remember just how rich and beautiful our Catholic faith is that is filled with truth, goodness, and beauty. So with these seeds of faith that I am planting (by God's grace), I pray they will never want to stray from Holy Mother Church and if they do, I want them to realize that they are going to be missing out on sweet, sugar chair celebrations ;) (and of the course, the most important aspect, the fullness of the faith and the Eucharist!)

Here are photos of this year's creations...

The supplies we used, but you use anything you think will make good chair parts:

Some chairs got damaged during the manufacturing process. My 3 year old gave her chair a "thumbs up" and my son works diligently on his creative Tootsie Roll chair.

Each child decorated their own version of St. Peter's chair. My 12 year old thought making a bench and decorating it with red gel icing and and a cross in the middle was a good way to make it.

The finished masterpieces. My 9 year old daughter also brought out the Melissa & Doug wooden chairs from her castle to help remember this feast day even more.

I didn't even realize this was a feast day until a few years ago, did you?

I think our family will always remember the Chair of St. Peter on Feb. 22 and its significance and meaning in Church history.

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The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter: February 22

This post contains affiliate links.

The feast of the Chair of St. Peter is celebrated today, February 22. I never even knew such a feast day in the Church existed until last year when I saw Kendra's post over at Catholic All Year where she did a fun candy chair activity with her family to celebrate it. Catholicism really is a bottomless treasure chest because there is ALWAYS something new to learn and love about our One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic faith.

This morning during our Couch Catechism time we read about this feast day from my favorite Saint book for children, Saints for Young Readers for Every Day, Vol. One.

Did you know the chair of St. Peter is a real chair at the Vatican that stands at the back of St. Peter's basilica? Check out the beautiful photos of it. The chair has a symbolic meaning too as mentioned in the above photo. But Why Does the Chair of Peter Matter? asks Fr. Steve Grunow from Word on Fire. Be sure to read his reflection about why.

After I reviewed the 9 Things You Need to Know About the "Chair of St. Peter" by Jimmy Akin (thank you Kendra for this Jimmy Akin link) with my children and a few friends after lunch, we made our own "St. Peter chairs" out of treats that I had on hand in my baking cabinet. (And I was proud of my 11 year old daughter who gave up chocolate for Lent...she just made her chair and left the kitchen to avoid the sweet temptations :) )

Here are some photos of our fun afternoon:

I love all the creativity that went into each chair. My 8 year old daughter even added a Hershey kiss Pope with eyes that sits on her chair. :)

Catholic Cuisine, Catholic Icing, and Children of the Church blogs also have some great edible chair ideas and crafts for the feast of the Chair of St. Peter!

Have a blessed week!