Saint Peter To Rot

Saint Peter To Rot was a Papua New Guinean Catholic who was canonized for his continued practice of Catholicism in the face of Japanese repression during World War II. He served as a catechist in his village and was entrusted with the leadership of the local parish during World War II when Imperial Japanese forces occupied the region and imprisoned Catholic missionaries. In response to Japanese oppression of his community, he publicly opposed their actions and continued to hold secret prayer services after the Japanese restricted him from active pastoral service. To Rot married in 1936, and he criticized Japanese attempts to encourage his people to return to the pre-Christian practice of taking multiple wives. He was executed by the Japanese in 1945. His beatification was celebrated in Papua New Guinea in 1995. His canonization took place on 19 October 2025. Peter To Rot was born on 5 March 1912 on the New Pomerania island in the then-German New Guinea. He was the third of six children born to Angelo Tu Puia (the well-respected village chief) and Maria Ia Tumul. Both of his parents converted to Catholicism in 1898. His father taught him the basics of the Catholic catechism and sent him to the local mission school in 1919, even though primary education was not obligatory at the time. Peter was quite agile in climbing coconut trees, and he was happy to do this to obtain coconuts for older villagers. It was rare for him to be mischievous at school, but he was honest and quick to help those in need. In 1930, the parish priest of Rakunai - Father Laufer - asked his father if he would allow To Rot to study for the priesthood. His father said that the time was not yet right but that it would be more than appropriate if his son would study to become a catechist. Soon afterward, Peter began his studies at Saint Paul's College of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Taliligap.