The feast of St Peter Chanel

Today, we celebrate the feast of St Peter Chanel, first martyr and patron of Oceania. The revelation of the love of God, our Father comes to us in many ways: through the beauty of nature which surrounds us, through the life of Jesus as recorded in the gospels, but we also have a long line of witnesses from the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas down to Peter Chanel who was declared a saint in our times, in 1945. He was born in 1803, in France, the fifth child of a family of eight. His parents were farmers and Pierre, as he was baptized, worked as a shepherd before studying to be ordained for his diocese in 1827. However, he felt called to be an overseas missionary and was one of the founders of a group that became the Society of Mary (Marists). But his first assignment was to teach in the new seminary. Five years later, he was chosen to lead the first group sent to Oceania. Bishop Pompallier left him on the island of Futuna with a Marist brother in 1837. It was a lonely life and hard going to learn the language and customs and very few were converted. However, the paramount chief, who had previously supported him, became angry when his own son asked for baptism and had him clubbed to death in 1841 at the age of 37. Two years after his death, everyone on the island became Catholics. Part of the prayer to him says, "Saint Peter Chanel, inspire me to work humbly for others and to care for them with love that through me they may experience our Father's love and care. Amen".