Peter Chanel
Marist from the Bresse, first martyr of Oceania, killed on Futuna three years after landing there.
- 19th century
- France
- Feast day April 28
- 1803 – 1841
- Priest
- Missionary
- Martyr
Listen to the life 0:43
A shepherd in the Ain, Peter Chanel became parish priest of a difficult parish which he restored in three years, then joined the Marists in order to go on mission. Landing in 1837 on Futuna, a tiny Pacific island, he learned the language, tended the sick and won only a few converts in three and a half years. When the son of King Niuliki asked for baptism, the king sent warriors: Peter Chanel was clubbed to death on 28 April 1841. The whole island converted within two years. He was canonised in 1954 and remains the first martyr of Oceania.
