Credo in Unum Deum

“I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell.” God created us to know Him, to follow Him, and to love Him. St. Peter of Verona lived out this calling in heroic fashion.

Peter was born to heretical parents and spent his childhood amid false teachings and dangerous practices. Yet in His mercy, God granted Peter the grace to come to the knowledge of the one true God. Even as a boy, Peter struggled to live out his faith under ridicule; his own relatives mocked him. Like Christ, he responded with love, patience, and mercy.

Recognizing his gifts, his family sent him at age fifteen to study in Bologna. There he met St. Dominic and saw the divine hand guiding his life. Overwhelmed, he threw himself at Dominic’s feet and begged to join the Order. Dominic welcomed him, and Peter served faithfully throughout the founder’s life—even standing vigil at his deathbed.

Peter’s youth had prepared him well for the rigors of preaching in northern Italy. He brought countless souls into the loving embrace of God with a fierce zeal—so much so that, like his Master, he laid down his life for their salvation. An assassin named Carino was sent to kill him. As Carino approached, he heard Peter singing Easter hymns—fitting, since Peter was about to meet the Risen Lord he loved so dearly. Struck down, Peter used his own blood to scrawl “Credo in unum Deum.” The assassin, stunned by this final witness of faith, was converted by Peter’s dying act.

Even those who persecute us, mock us, or claim Christianity is pointless cannot resist the witness of a martyr. God’s love overcomes the hardest of hearts. We, who have received that love through the Church and her sacraments, are united to Him—and no power of darkness can prevail unless we surrender the gifts He has given us. St. Peter of Verona reminds us that our greatest witness is steadfastness in the truth of God’s love. There is only one true God—and He is worth everything.