Quō vādis Domine? Whither goest thou Lord?

Quō vādis? 

After preaching in Rome, Saint Peter was on the Appian Way on his way to his next destination when Christ appeared to him.

Quō vādis Domine? Whither goest thou Lord? Peter asks.
Rōmam eō iterum crucifīgī. I am going to Rome to be crucified again. Jesus replies.

The antichrist Emperor Nero was burning Christians alive to cover for his own crime of burning Rome, and Peter was getting the heck out of there to avoid crucifixion in Rome at the hands of the government, and along the road outside the city, he meets the risen Jesus. 

Peter then gained the courage to continue his Roman ministry and returns to the city, where he was martyred by being crucified upside-down.

The Church of Domine Quo Vadis in Rome is built where the meeting between Peter and Jesus traditionally took place. 




Santa Maria in Palmis, also known as Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis, is a small church southeast of Rome, central Italy. It is located about some 800 m from Porta San Sebastiano, where the Via Ardeatina branches off the Appian Way.