Peter Chanel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saint Pierre Chanel | |
|---|---|
| First martyr of Oceania | |
| Born | July 11, 1803, Cuet, near Belley, France |
| Died | April 28, 1841., Futuna Island |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 1889 |
| Canonized | 1954, Rome by Pope Pius XII |
| Major shrine | Futuna |
| Feast | 28 April |
| Attributes | Gentle, Caring |
| Patronage | Oceania |
 Saints Portal |
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Pierre Chanel (1803-1841), Catholic priest, missionary and martyr. He was declared a saint and the first martyr of Oceania (the South Pacific).
Pierre Louis Marie Chanel was born on July 12, 1803 in Cuet, near Belley, France. His piety and intelligence attracted the attention of the local priest, and he was put into Church-sponsored education. He followed this with seminary training and was ordained priest in 1827. Among his first assignments was a run-down parish, which he revitalized in three years.
In 1831, he joined the new Society of Mary (Marists), who concentrated on missionary work. Instead of being selected as a missionary, however, the Marists used his talents as a professor at the Seminary of Belley, where he stayed for five years. In 1836, the Marists were allowed to send missionaries to the territory of the South West Pacific. Chanel was made the superior of a band of Marist missionaries and they set out on 24 December 1836 from Le Havre. They were accompanied by Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier who was to become the first Bishop of New Zealand. Pompallier had been appointed by the Pope to care for the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania. Pompallier based himself in New Zealand from 1838 and became the first Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand in 1848.
Travelling via Valparaiso and Tahiti the group first dropped two missionaries at ʻUvea (still named Wallis by the French), the mainseat of the mission. Pierre Chanel went to neighbouring Futuna Island, accompanied by a French laybrother Marie Nizier and they were soon joined by an English protestant layman named Thomas Boag who had been resident on the island.
The group was initially well received by the island's king, Niuliki. Once the missionaries learned the local language and began preaching directly to the people, the king grew restive. He believed that Christianity would take away his prerogatives as high priest and king. When the king's son, Meitala sought to be baptized, the king sent a favoured warrior, Musumusu to "do whatever was necessary" to resolve the problem. Musumusu initially went to Meitala and the two fought. Musumusu, injured in the fracas went to Chanel feigning need of medical attention. While Chanel tended him a group of others ransacked his house. Musumusu took an axe and clubbed Chanel on the head. Pierre died that day, April 28, 1841.
Pompallier, upon hearing of the death of Chanel, arranged for a French naval vessel L’Allier, commanded by the Comte du Bouzet, to accompany the Mission schooner the Sancta Maria and to sail for Wallis and Futuna Islands, taking with him Fr. Philippe Viard. The two vessels arrived at ʻUvea (Wallis) on 30 December 1841 after a journey of 32 days. Fr. Bataillon, the missionary priest on ʻUvea persuaded the Bishop to stay a while on ʻUvea, where conversions were plentiful. The Bishop sent Viard to Futuna, where he landed on 18th January 1842. A chief named Maligi, who had not agreed to Chanel’s murder, agreed to disinter Fr. Chanel’s body, and brought it to the L’Allier the next day, wrapped in several local mats. The body was taken back to France and Rome via New Zealand and Australia.
The relics were returned to Futuna in 1977. Chanel's martyrdom accomplished his missionary work, however, and within a few years most on the island had converted. As a kind of penitence a special action song and dance, known as the eke, was created by the people of Futuna, shortly after Chanel's death. The dance is still performed in Tonga. Chanel was declared a martyr and beatified in 1889. He was canonised in 1954 by Pope Pius XII. His feast day in the Catholic Church is 28 April.
