Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Javier Trapero
Port Moresby (Agenzia Fides) – Blessed Martyr Peter To Rot will be canonised on October 19, 2025. His sainthood is the fruit of close cooperation between priests and laity in the evangelising task of mission, specifically that of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC).
‘He, the ‘mission boy’, was very ill and has died’. This was the ironic way the policeman To Metapa spoke when he went to see with his own eyes that Peter To Rot was dead. Shortly before, the doctor at the prison where he was being held had injected him with a so-called medicine and given him a syrup to cure him of a cold. The administration of these substances caused him to vomit, which the doctor himself did not allow him to expel by covering his mouth.
Such was the martyrdom of this ‘mission boy’. The martyrdom of a person tremendously committed to missionary work. That of a native Papuan catechist who learned to love Jesus, together with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
Peter To Rot was born in Rakanui, a village on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea, in 1912. But the story of his sainthood, so to speak, began 14 years earlier, with the baptism of his parents. This was tremendously important for the evangelisation of this part of the Pacific.
His father, Angelo To Puia, was chief of his community. He was among the first to be baptised at the mission, along with his wife, Maria Ia Tumul. For an authority among the natives to receive this sacrament of Christian initiation meant acceptance of the teachings of Jesus and, very importantly, renunciation of the practices of witchcraft and cannibalism that were very much a part of the culture of those people, as well as others that were contrary to the Gospel.
Peter To Rot's sister spoke of her family when questioned during the beatification process: ‘My father was one of the leaders of the clan. He always took good care of his children, and was concerned about our education, the advice we received and our general welfare. Our family was known as a truly Catholic family, and our parents brought us up according to that faith’.
Peter to Rot's parents had a very close relationship with the missionaries. They helped build the mission, donated the land for the church, the school and the missionary house. They were a very kind and committed family, always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.
Fr Joseph Theler, MSC, explains in the Positio for the beatification of Peter To Rot that ‘Angelo To Puia was a wealthy leader with a gentle character. He was undoubtedly the most respected person by all in the Navunaram and Rakunai areas. He was considered the protector of the indigenous people.
With this family background, Peter To Rot showed a very special interest in the Eucharist from a very young age, volunteering to help at daily mass. The Eucharist was for him a fundamental pillar in his life of faith. Ulrich, MSC, who had been appointed in charge of the mission in 1926, wanted volunteer acolytes to make up the weekly list, but at the same time he wanted them to be responsible and to come regularly. Once again, To Rot was the first to give his name. When the children at school were asked which of them had said their morning and evening prayers, To Rot always raised his hand to show that he had done so.
Such was Peter To Rot's religious sense that Fr Carl Laufer, MSC, raised the possibility of his becoming a priest, to which his father replied: ‘No, Father, I don't think one of our generation is ready to become a priest. It's too early for that. Maybe one of my grandchildren or great- grandchildren will be that lucky. But if you want To Rot to be a catechist, send him to the Taliligap Catechist School’.
At the age of 18, Peter To Rot entered the catechists' school run by Fr. Joseph Lakaff, MSC. It must be said that the concept of a catechist in the mission is that of a person who is very committed to the community, a guide, a point of reference for all its members. Lakaff defined it as follows: ‘The catechist is a true missionary. He is an explorer, a teacher in the most remote places, a watchman. He softens the soil in the unploughed fields where the seed of faith will be planted. He warns against dangers and prepares the way for the final triumph of faith. Because catechists are familiar with the mentality of their own people, their lifestyles, traditions, ideas about various aspects of life and their language, they give the priest working among a native people, with their help, a clear advantage over the unaided foreign missionary’.
Catechists are such committed people that, in many parts of the world, they have even given their lives to continue their evangelising mission when priests, missionaries or missionaries have been expelled, imprisoned or killed. This is the case of Peter To Rot.
In 1942, in the middle of World War II, the Japanese army invaded Papua New Guinea. In a first phase, they arrested all the priests, but allowed the pastoral activity of the missions. This is where catechists in general and Peter To Rot in particular played a key role in maintaining the faith in their communities. Gradually, religious freedom was curtailed and certain religious manifestations were banned, until in 1944 the ban was total. Laufer wrote: ‘The huts of the natives were regularly searched for religious books, crucifixes, medals, stamps, etc. Possession of any written document was dangerous. To Rot had in his possession the mission register which, together with his personal notes, he managed to hide in the thatched roof of the school. What had been permitted up to this point and carried out in terms of prayers, Sunday services and instructions, was now forbidden, at least outwardly’.
The authorities gathered the catechists in the police stations and forced them to stop their pastoral activities. Laufer, Peter To Rot's reaction was firm: ‘They have taken away our priests, but they cannot forbid us to be Catholics and to live and die as Catholics. I am your catechist and I will do my duty, even if it costs me my life’. Clandestinely, he went out in the evenings to meet with small groups of the faithful. He gave them catechesis, presided at prayers and, when necessary, administered baptisms or blessed marriages. He consciously assumed his responsibility as a catechist in the absence of the missionaries, determined not to abandon the Christian communities.
In addition to this prohibition of any religious manifestation, the Japanese army, in order to curry favour with the most sympathetic leaders, restored practices that had almost disappeared, such as polygamy. From then on, Peter To Rot became a staunch defender of marriage. He openly opposed the practice, which led him to oppose influential members such as policemen and judges who wanted to take married women as wives. For this reason, the policeman To Metapa, who had sufficient power to order his arrest, denounced him. During his time in prison, Peter To Rot showed great composure and conviction. He firmly defended his decisions and his fidelity to the Christian faith, without any regrets. He remained steadfast as a catechist and witness to the Gospel to the very end. Hours before his martyrdom he said: ‘I am in prison for those who break their marriage vows and for those who do not want to see God's work go forward. That is all. I must die. I have already been condemned to death.’ (Agenzia Fides, 15/6/2025)
