Patronage
2 saints are venerated as patrons of Popes, led by Peter the Apostle (feast day June 29).
1 — 64 · Feast day: June 29
Simon Peter, a fisherman from Bethsaida in Galilee, was called by Christ and named the 'Rock' on which the Church stands — given the Keys of the Kingdom at Caesarea Philippi. Though he denied his Lord three times on the night of the Passion, he repented bitterly and was restored by the Risen Christ, going on to lead the early Church, preach at Pentecost, and die by crucifixion upside down in Rome under Nero.
540 — 604 · Feast day: September 3
A monk-turned-pope who held Rome together as the empire crumbled, Gregory converted his family mansion into a monastery before being dragged from contemplative life to the Chair of Peter in 590. He organized famine relief, negotiated with Lombard commanders, dispatched Augustine to evangelize England, and reshaped the Roman liturgy — signing his letters 'Servant of the servants of God.'