Peter To Rot was a lay catechist in Papua New Guinea who was martyred during the Second World War for defending the faith and the dignity of Christian marriage. He is a treasured witness of the Church in Oceania.
Life
Peter To Rot was born in 1912 in the village of Rakunai on the island of New Britain, in present-day Papua New Guinea, to a Catholic family. Trained by missionaries, he became a catechist as a young man, teaching the faith to his village, and he married and raised a family.
During the Second World War, Japanese forces occupied the island and interned the missionaries. Peter led the priestless community, keeping up prayer services, preparing people for baptism and guiding couples in marriage. When the occupiers banned religious practice and reintroduced polygamy, he would not give up the Church’s teaching on marriage. He was arrested and killed in prison in 1945. He was beatified in 1995 and canonized in 2025.
Spirituality
Peter To Rot’s spirituality is the faithful responsibility of a layman who kept his community together when no priest was present. He saw marriage and family as a holy gift from God, and even in fear he never stopped praying and teaching. His life shows that every baptized person is a worker for the Church.
Reflection
As a catechist, Saint Peter stayed with his community to the end so that it would not fall apart. What small responsibility could I take on to keep the faith alive in my family and my parish?