Saint Peter Chanel, First Martyr & Patron of Oceania. His Martyrdom Converted Entire Island to Catholicism

April 28 marks the feast of Saint Chanel. The First Martyr & Patron of Oceania.

Saint Peter Louis Marie Chanel, SM (12 July 1803 – 28 April 1841), born in France he was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr, was a member of the Society of Mary and was sent as a missionary to Oceania. He arrived on the island of Futuna in November 1837. Chanel was clubbed to death in April 1841 at the instigation of a chief upset because his son converted.

As a young man, Saint Chanel showed a strong inclination towards the priesthood and missionary work from a young age. After being ordained a priest, he joined the Society of Mary (Marists), a newly founded order dedicated to missionary work, in 1831.

In 1836, he was sent to the islands of the Pacific as a missionary, where he faced numerous hardships and disappointments. He struggled with this new language and mastered it, making the difficult adjustment to life with whalers, traders, and warring natives. Despite little apparent success and severe want, he maintained a serene and gentle spirit, plus endless patience and courage. A few natives had been baptized, a few more were being instructed. When the chieftain’s son asked to be baptized, persecution by the chieftain reached a climax. Father Chanel was clubbed to death. He was killed on April 28, 1841, in Futuna, a small island in Oceania. 

Within two years after his death, the whole island became Catholic and has remained so. He was declared a martyr and beatified in 1889, and was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

Saint Peter Chanel is considered the protomartyr and patron saint of Oceania. His life and martyrdom serve as an inspiration to missionaries and Catholics worldwide.


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