Melanesia's First Saint, St. Peter To Rot

The Path toward the Canonization of Melanesia’s First Saint: St. Peter To Rot

(ANS – Port Moresby – Papua New Guinea – October 13, 2025) - On Sunday, October 19, besides Blessed Maria Troncatti, FMA, 6 other blesseds will be canonized.  One is Papuan layman and catechist Peter To Rot, who will be the first saint for the Church of Melanesia, and a source of further joy and pride for the flourishing local Salesian Family.

Pope St. John Paul II beatified Peter To Rot on January 17, 1995 in Port Moresby.  After his beatification, many miracles were attributed to his intercession.  His reputation for holiness is now widespread in Oceania.

The cause for his canonization had been at a standstill for many years, however.  One of the major difficulties was the oral culture of Papua New Guinea.  It’s very difficult to document the requested miracle, because there are few hospitals that can provide the scientific documentation needed to prove an alleged miraculous healing, and because the culture of the local population is mainly based on oral communication, making it difficult to record any miracles in writing.  The bishops of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands requested that the miracle required for canonization be dispensed with.

On March 22, 2024, Pope Francis granted a dispensation from the formal process of canonization, for which the Church requires a regular investigation and the corresponding miracle.  Through this dispensation, the Pope, after careful examination, recognizes a devotion that has already existed for some time, without waiting for the recognition of a miracle.  Pope Francis did the same in the case of John XXIII, who was canonized on the basis of his decades-long worldwide reputation for holiness, without a 2d miracle being recognized (after his beatification).  In his first consistory, Pope Leo XIV set the canonization of Pieter To Rot, together with the other blesseds, for World Mission Day on October 19, 2025.

Born on March 5, 1912, Peter was educated in the Christian faith and became a catechist; his life was characterized by charity, humility, and dedication to the poor and orphans.  During the Japanese occupation of Papua New Guinea in World War II, Peter continued to prepare couples for marriage while the missionaries were imprisoned.  When his pastoral activities were banned, he continued his apostolate in secret, fully aware that he was risking his life.

Peter To Rot’s Eucharistic devotion is also extraordinary.  He took the Eucharist to his people while the missionaries were prisoners of the Japanese imperial army.  He staunchly defended the sanctity of marriage and opposed the practice of polygamy, even confronting his older brother, who had taken a second wife.  The latter reported him to the Japanese police, and Peter was sentenced to two months in prison, where he died of poisoning by the Japanese military in July 1945.

Peter To Rot was a Melanesian.  The Catholic faith was deeply enculturated in him.  He exercised his ministry as a catechist with deep respect for his cultural heritage and in a manner that resonated with his community.  But he didn’t hesitate to challenge traditional practices contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Peter To Rot’s journey of holiness is a powerful confirmation of what St. John Paul II wrote in the post-synodal exhortation Ecclesia in Oceania, no. 10: “The way of Jesus is always the way of mission; he now invites his followers to proclaim the Gospel anew to the peoples of Oceania, so that culture and the preaching of the Gospel may meet in a mutually enriching way and the Good News be heard, believed, and lived more deeply.”

The official portrait of Peter To Rot, which will be used for the canonization, was created by renowned Spanish artist Raul Bersoza Fernandez.

The canonization of Peter To Rot is also an invitation to the whole Salesian Society and Salesian Family to grow in awareness of the Church in Oceania, particularly in Melanesia, where 51 sons of Don Bosco in 9 presences in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands make up the Blessed Philip Rinaldi Vice Province.

Also present in Melanesia are the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMAs), the Salesian Cooperators, the Don Bosco Volunteers (DBVs), the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA), the Sisters of Charity of Jesus (SCG), the Association of Past Pupils of Don Bosco (EX.DB), the Past Pupils of the FMAs (EX.FMA), and the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC).