Saturday, April 28, Third Week of Easter
ST. PIERRE CHANEL (b France 1801, d Futuna,South Pacific 1841)
Marist Priest, Missionary, Martyr
Pierre always wanted to be a missionary but after being ordained as a priest, he was given a parish assignment
to a district considered 'bad', which he managed to rehabilitate during the three years he served it, by his
devotion to the poor. At age 28, he was one of the first to join the new Society of Mary which was dedicated
to missionary work in the South Pacific. He led a small group of Marists that headed there, one of them
staying in New Zealand to be the first bishop of Auckland, while Pierre went on to the island of Futuna, a French
possession halfway between Samoa and Fiji. He had to learn the language and deal with whalers, traders and
warring natives, but he converted a few natives gradually. When he managed to convert the son of the local
chieftain, he was clubbed to death and hacked to pieces. He became the first martyr in Oceania and of the Marist
order. Within a few years, the other missionaries who followed him converted the whole island including the king.
They were also able to recover Pierre's remains, which followed an odyssey from Futuna to Auckland to Sydney,
then finally back to France in 1850. He was beatified in 1889 and canonized in 1954. He is considered the
patron saint of Oceania.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042812.cfm
AT THE VATICAN TODAY
The Holy Father met with
- H.E. César Castillo Ramírez, Ambassador of Peru to the Holy See, who presented his credentials.
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops (weekly meeting).
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/04/2012 16:52]