on an upside down cross by
Caravaggio (c. 1600) in
Kemi,
Finland The origin of the symbol comes from the tradition that
Saint Peter was
crucified upside down. This narrative first appears in the
Martyrdom of Peter, a text found in, but possibly predating, the
Acts of Peter, an
apocryphal work which was originally composed during the second half of the 2nd century. In the
Acts of Peter, the author writes that Peter's request to be crucified upside-down was to make a point: That the values of those crucifying him were upside down, and that one needs to look beyond the inverted values of this world and adopt the values of Jesus if they wish to enter the
Kingdom of heaven. Sometime in the middle of the 3rd century,
Origen of Alexandria popularized the tradition that Peter requested to be crucified upside-down. At the end of the 4th century,
Jerome wrote in his ("On Illustrious Men") that the reason for this request was that Peter felt he was unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. The 19th-century French mystic
Eugène Vintras (1807–1875), founder of the
Work of Mercy movement, led a
mystical Christian sect sometimes referred to as neo-Catholic. His teachings emphasized
Marian visions, apocalyptic prophecy, and Eucharistic miracles, positioning his movement within a heterodox Christian framework. According to scholar Ruben van Luijk, Vintras incorporated the Petrine Cross into his vestments, particularly on his stole, as part of his movement's
esoteric Christian symbolism. ==Use in heraldry==