You’ve got to love the Dominican saints, especially today’s Saint Peter of Verona, also known as Saint Peter Martyr. At the end of his life, he literally penned the Creed with his blood, as I’ll explain in a bit.

Like Saint Dominic, Saint Peter of Verona was a preacher to the Cathar Albigensian heretics. The Cathars believed physical matter is evil, despised the body, despised marriage, and essentially held to Manichaean view of the universe.

Peter was a famous preacher and crowds followed him around Italy. A group of Cathars conspired to murder him and hired a professional assassin to kill the priest (can you imagine if this happened today?).

The assassin struck Peter on the head with an axe. Peter, still alive but with the top of his cranium chopped off, stood to his feet, recited the Creed. With the blood running from his head, he wrote with his finger “Credo in Unum Deum” or “I believe in one God,” so as to witness against the Cathars’ heresy.

Despite the head wound, he lived for five days and then died.

Saint Peter Martyr is an example for us to brush up on our Catholic theology and actively teach the truth. And the next time the Mormons on your doorstep, be ready by knowing your theology…and be grateful that they don’t carry axes.

[reminder]