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 obtained almost no conversions for three 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.
