Opinion
By Valentine Obienyem
MY dilemma today began with the title of this reflection: “Who Founded the Catholic Church?” or “Who Was the First Pope?” I settled on the latter, although the two questions are closely connected. For Catholics, Christ is the founder of the Church. He established it during His earthly ministry, chose the Apostles and, at a particularly solemn moment, entrusted Peter with a foundational role, the keys of the Kingdom and the authority to bind and loose. At Pentecost, the Church was publicly manifested and began her universal mission. Today’s readings, however, take us to that defining moment when Christ said to Simon Peter: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.”
Mass began unusually late, although the Catholic Church remains one of the Nigerian institutions that keeps to time. But Rev. Fr. Cyprian Nwabueze from UNIZIK redeemed the delay with genuine humility, offering sincere apologies before and after the celebration.
In his homily, Fr. Cyprian offered a striking exegetical insight into Caesarea Philippi. The city, dedicated to Caesar under Roman rule, was dominated by pagan temples and competing deities. It was against this backdrop of idols and worldly power that Christ chose to declare the foundation of His Church.
Fr. Cyprian drew two penetrating questions from the text. The first was self-evaluation. He said we should be able to seek the views of others about the impression we make on them. He emphasised the need to occasionally find out how others perceive and evaluate us, as such honest feedback can help us recognise our strengths and shortcomings and become better versions of ourselves. It serves as a spiritual mirror, prompting us to examine what our conduct communicates to the world – a Christian echo of Socrates’ conviction that the unexamined life is not worth living.
The second question is about who Jesus is to us. Our faith in the person of Jesus cannot remain merely an inherited tradition or something learnt through childhood catechism. As we grow in faith, we must move beyond what we have been told about Him to a personal knowledge and encounter with Him. It is this encounter that gives meaning to our Christian life and transforms the way we think, act and relate with others. We encounter Christ through prayer, the Sacraments, the celebration of Mass, the Word of God and, importantly, through our daily relationships with others. Faith, therefore, must move from mere knowledge about Jesus to a living relationship with Him.
What a beautiful and spiritually elevating homily. It also provides an opportunity for me to continue to appeal to our priests to seize moments like the one presented by today’s readings to explain the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church to the faithful. Many Catholics practise their faith sincerely without necessarily understanding the biblical and theological foundations of what they believe. The pulpit is therefore not only a place for exhortation; it is also a powerful platform for catechesis, where misconceptions can be corrected and the faithful helped to understand, appreciate and defend their faith.
Yet beyond the homily, today’s readings anchor one of the most consequential doctrines in Catholic theology.
In the First Reading, Eliakim is entrusted with “the key of the House of David” – a decisive symbol of authority: what he shuts none shall open, and what he opens none shall shut. The Gospel mirrors this language with even greater force. Christ bestows upon Peter the keys of the Kingdom, declaring: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church… Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” These constitute an investiture of sacred authority.
This Petrine authority is inseparable from the Catholic priesthood and the Sacrament of Confession (auricular confession). A priest does not forgive sins by personal virtue; he acts “in persona Christi” within the authority Christ entrusted to the Apostles – a ministry preserved through apostolic succession.
From Peter, the Catholic succession traces to Linus, mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21, then Cletus (Anacletus), and Clement of Rome. As I did a few weeks ago, I traced the recorded lineage of my own bishop, Dr Paulinus Ezeokafor, back through centuries of the laying on of hands. The historical chain leads ultimately to Peter, the Apostle whom Christ entrusted with the keys.
This is why the question of the first Pope becomes so significant. The title “Pope” developed later in the history of the Church, but the Petrine ministry reaches back to Christ’s own commissioning of Peter. Peter stands at the beginning of the succession of the Bishops of Rome.
Ultimately, today’s readings confront us with two defining questions.
The personal: Who is Jesus to you? The answer is Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The ecclesial: What Church did Christ establish, and to whom did He entrust a foundational authority within it? The answer is found in Christ’s own words: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.”
My opening dilemma therefore dissolves. Christ founded the Church. Pentecost marked its public manifestation and missionary birth. Peter, however, was entrusted with the keys and a unique foundational ministry within it. The Galilean fisherman thus stands at the dawn of the Petrine ministry, which continues through the ages in apostolic succession.
My one question, or request, to those who will argue against this is simple: Tell us who founded the Catholic Church, if not Christ Himself.
A.I
Aug. 24, 2026
Tags: Rev. Fr. Cyprian Nwabueze Valentine Obienyem