Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. Peter Chanel, Patron Saint of Oceania l April 28

Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. Peter Chanel, Patron Saint of Oceania l April 28 Today, we will hear about the life of a missionary priest who was martyred for converting many pagans to Christianity. He is a “Marist,” a member of the religious order called Society of Mary, a religious congregation of priests and brothers whose aim is to live the Gospel in the spirit Mary lived it, hidden and unknown. Friends, our saint today is St. Peter Chanel. Peter was born Pierre Louis Marie Chanel in the hamlet of La Portiere, France on July 12, 1803. From the age of 7 to 12, he worked as a shepherd boy. His parish priest encouraged his parents to send him for his studies at the parish school and there his intelligence attracted a visiting priest, Fr. Trompier who took over the boy’s education. After Peter’s First Communion on March 23, 1817, he began to be interested in missions abroad. He entered the minor seminary, then attended the diocesan college in 1823 and enrolled at the major seminary in Brou in 1824. He was ordained on July 15, 1827. The following year, he was assigned as parish priest for three years. It was during this time that he heard about the Marists. At the age of 28, in 1831, Fr. Chanel joined the newly founded Society of Mary (Marists). He wanted immediately to go to the mission but he was appointed as spiritual director at the seminary in Belly and stayed there for five years. In 1836, when he accompanied Jean-Claude Colin, founder of the Marists, to Rome to seek pontifical approval for the Society of Mary, they were asked to send missionaries to the southwest Pacific with the Pope promising to approve their congregation. Fr. Chanel professed as a Marist on September 24, 1836 and was chosen superior of the first seven Marists to be sent to Oceania. They arrived in Futuna on November 8, 1837. At first, the missionaries were received well by Futuna’s king. A little later, since many were being baptized, the king thought that Christianity would undermine his position as high priest and king, so he sought to drive the missionaries away. When the king’s son asked to be baptized, the king became furious and ordered his son-in-law to dissuade him. At first they calmly discussed the issue but then the discussion led to fighting. Defeated and injured, this son-in-law went to Fr. Chanel pretending to ask for help, but while his wound was being tended, his companions took an ax, gave it to him and he clubbed Fr. Chanel to death. It happened on April 28, 1841. He was 38 years old and it was later brought back to New Zealand. The relics remained jn Bay Islands until 1849. Then they were taken to Australia, and then sent back to Europe. On June 1, 1850 the remains arrived at the monastery of the Society of Mary in London. In 1977, the relics were returned to Futuna and the skull was brought there in 1985. Most islanders converted and the person who killed Fr. Chanel was also converted. Fr. Chanel was declared a martyr and beatified in 1889. He was canonized on June 12, 1954 by Pope Pius XII and is recognized as the protomartyr and patron saint of Oceania. His feast day is celebrated on April 28. Marist priests and brothers working in Oceania cover a territory as big as Western Europe, which includes six independent nations and two French territories. This Oceania province is the largest in the Society of Mary. Virtue: piety, humility, generosity, fidelity, courage, bravery, fortitude, charity and adaptability. Prayer: “St. Peter Chanel, please pray for the protection of missionaries in pagan territories.”