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St Peter Chanel was born in 1803 in the hamlet of La Potiere, France. He was the fifth of eight children. From about the age of 7 to 12 he worked as a shepherd. The local parish priest persuaded his parents to allow Peter to attend a small school which the priest had started. His piety and intelligence soon attracted the attention of a visiting priest, Fr. Trompier, and he was put into Church-sponsored education at Cras in 1814. He made his first communion on 23 March 1817.
It was from that time that his attraction for the missions abroad began. His interest was the result of reading letters from missionaries sent back by Bishop DuBourg from America. He later said, "It was that year that I formed the idea of going to the foreign missions." In 1819 he entered the minor seminary where he won several awards and class prizes in Latin, Christian doctrine and speech and in 1824 attended the major seminary.
He was ordained on 15 July 1827 and spent a brief time as an assistant priest at Ambérieu-en-Bugey. There he met Claude Bret, who was to become his friend and also one of the first Marist Missionaries. The following year, Chanel applied to the Bishop for permission to go to the missions. His application was not accepted and instead he was appointed for the next three years as parish priest of the parish of Crozet, which he revitalized in that short time.
His zeal was widely respected, and his care, particularly of those in the parish that were sick, won the hearts of the locals. During this time, Chanel heard of a group of Diocesan Priests who were hopeful of starting a religious order to be dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
Marist and missionary
In 1831, at the age of twenty-eight, Peter Chanel joined the new Society of Mary (Marists) who would concentrate on missionary work. Instead of selecting him as a missionary, however, the Marists used his talents as the spiritual director at the Seminary of Belley, where he stayed for five years. In 1836, the Marists were asked to send missionaries to the South West Pacific Islands. Peter Chanel was made the superior of a group of seven Marist missionaries that set out on 24 December from Le Havre.
Peter Chanel and a lay brother arrived on the island of Futuna on 8 November 1837.
At first they were well received by Futuna's king, Niuliki. Fr. Chanel struggled to learn the language and mastered it. Despite little apparent success and severe want, he maintained endless patience and courage. It was a difficult mission, coping with isolation, different foods and customs. Eventually a few natives were baptised while a few more were being instructed.
King Niuliki believed that Christianity would undermine his authority as high priest and king. When his son, Meitala, sought to be baptised, the king sent his son-in-law, Musumusu, a warrior, to "do whatever was necessary" to resolve the problem. Musumusu initially went to the king’s son, Meitala and the two fought. Musumusu, injured in the fight, went to Fr. Peter Chanel pretending to need medical attention. While Fr. Chanel tended him, a group of others ransacked his house. Musumusu then took an axe and clubbed Peter Chanel to death. He died on April 28, 1841.
Eventually, most on the island converted to Catholicism. Musumusu himself converted and, as he lay dying, expressed the desire that he be buried outside the church at Poi, so that those who came to revere Peter Chanel in the Church would walk over his grave to get to it.
Chanel was declared a martyr and beatified in 1889.He was canonised on 12 June 1954 by Pope Pius XII.St Peter Chanel is recognised as the proto-martyr and Patron Saint ofOceania. His feast day is 28 April.