Quo Vadis?

• Quo Vadis is from the Latin meaning ‘Whither goest Thou?’

In the New Testament

• The phrase comes from the Christian tradition relating to St. Peter, as written in the Apocrypha Acts of St. Peter.
• Quo Vadis was St. Peter’s question to Jesus, as he himself fled Crucifixion in Rome, followed by Jesus’ reply, which caused St. Peter to turn back and become a martyr:

• • St. Peter: ‘Quo Vadis?’ (‘Whither goest Thou?’)
  • Jesus: ‘Romam vado iterum crucifigi’ (‘I am going to Rome to be crucified again’)

In Art

• A painting titled ‘Dominae Quo Vadis?’ (Lord, where are you going?) was painted in c.1602 by Annibale Carracci, who founded the Bolognese School of Baroque Italian painting.
• It is located in the National Gallery, London.

In Literature

• ‘Quo Vadis? A Narrative of the Time of Nero’ (1895-6).
• Published in 1895 by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz. It deals with a romance between a Christian woman and a Roman patrician. It was made into a film in 1951.

In Film

• Quo Vadis IMDb (1951)
• Quo Vadis IMDb (2001)