Capernaum

The Story

Capernaum, a fishing town on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, is called "the town of Jesus": the Gospel of Matthew records that after leaving Nazareth, Jesus "went to live in Capernaum by the sea" (Matthew 4:13), making it the home base of his Galilean ministry. The Gospels place many decisive moments here. Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John from their nets and Matthew from his tax post; he taught in the synagogue, healed Peter's mother-in-law, the centurion's servant, and the paralytic lowered through the roof; and in the synagogue of Capernaum he delivered the Bread of Life discourse, promising, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (John 6). The town's ruins preserve remarkable witnesses to this history. A white limestone synagogue of the fourth or fifth century stands on the black basalt foundations of an earlier synagogue, plausibly the one Jesus knew. Nearby, a simple first-century dwelling was venerated from the earliest Christian centuries as the house of St. Peter; a fourth-century pilgrim account attributed to Egeria describes it already transformed into a house-church, and a fifth-century octagonal basilica was later built over it. The Franciscans acquired the site in the late nineteenth century, and their excavations brought this extraordinary sequence to light. Today a modern memorial church, dedicated in 1990, is suspended above the house of Peter, its glass floor allowing pilgrims to look down onto the place where, according to tradition, Jesus lived and taught. Capernaum remains one of the most cherished stops for Holy Land pilgrims, who read the Gospel of the Bread of Life where it was first spoken.

Church Recognition

Capernaum is one of the principal Holy Land sanctuaries entrusted to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land; the house of St. Peter has been venerated since the earliest Christian centuries, and the modern memorial church over it was dedicated in 1990.

Catholic Teaching

Capernaum's synagogue heard the Bread of Life discourse (John 6), in which the Church recognizes Christ's promise of the Eucharist and the foundation of its faith in his Real Presence (CCC 1373–1381); the town also witnesses the call of the apostles, the beginning of the Church's mission.

Plan Your Visit

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Practical

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Pilgrims visit the octagonal church over St. Peter's house and the white-stone synagogue ruins.

Go Deeper

The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land's website (https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/capernaum) presents the sanctuary and its excavations; read John 6 alongside the Catechism on the Eucharist (CCC 1373–1381) to prepare for a visit.