Quo vadis?

This article is about the Latin phrase. For other uses, see Quo Vadis (disambiguation).

Quo vadis? is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?" or "Whither goest thou?" The modern usage of the phrase refers to Christian tradition, related in the apocryphal Acts of Peter (Vercelli Acts XXXV), in which Saint Peter meets Jesus as Peter is fleeing from likely crucifixion in Rome. Peter asks Jesus the question "Quo vadis?" Jesus's answer, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again" (Romam vado iterum crucifigi.), prompts Peter to gain the courage to continue his ministry and eventually become a martyr.

The phrase also occurs a few times in the Vulgate translation of the Bible, notably in John 13:36, when Peter also asks the question of Jesus after which Jesus announces he is going to where his followers cannot come.