Peter Chanel | |
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| Protomartyr of Oceania | |
| Born | (1803-07-12)12 July 1803 Montrevel-en-Bresse,Ain, France |
| Died | 28 April 1841(1841-04-28) (aged 37) Futuna Island |
| Venerated in | The Catholic Church Church of England |
| Beatified | 17 November 1889, Rome byPope Leo XIII |
| Canonized | 12 June 1954, Rome byPope Pius XII |
| Majorshrine | Futuna |
| Feast | 28 April |
| Attributes | Gentle, Kind, Encouraging |
| Patronage | Oceania |
Peter Louis Marie Chanel, SM (12 July 1803 – 28 April 1841), was a Catholicpriest,missionary, andmartyr. Chanel was a member of theSociety of Mary and was sent as a missionary toOceania. He arrived on theisland of Futuna in November 1837. Chanel was clubbed to death in April 1841 at the instigation of a chief upset because his son converted.
Chanel was born in the hamlet ofLa Potière nearMontrevel-en-Bresse, Ain département, France. Son of Claude-François Chanel and Marie-Anne Sibellas 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 the priest had started. After some local schooling, his piety and intelligence attracted the attention of a visiting priest fromCras, the abbé Trompier, who took over the boy's education at Cras in the autumn of 1814. He made his first communion on 23 March 1817.[1]
It was from that time that Chanel's attraction for the missions abroad began. His interest began when he read letters from missionaries to America sent back by BishopLouis William Valentine Dubourg. 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 atMeximieux where he won several awards and class prizes in Latin, Christian doctrine, and oratory. He attended theBelley diocesan college in 1823, and the major seminary atBrou in 1824.[2]
Chanel was ordained on 15 July 1827[3] and spent a brief time as an assistant priest atAmbérieu-en-Bugey. At Ambérieu he also read letters from a formercurate from that parish who was at that time a missionary inIndia. There he met Claude Bret, who was to become his friend and also one of the firstMarist Missionaries. The following year, Chanel applied to theBishop of Belley 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 ofCrozet.[1] Chanel found his new parish in a deplorable state. On Sundays and feast days, the church was almost empty; the children idle, and left to themselves. The priest went on a pilgrimage to Annecy, to the tomb ofFrancis de Sales who had once visited his parish.
Chanel's zeal was respected, and his care, particularly of the sick in the parish,[4] 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.
In 1831, at the age of 28, Chanel joined the nascentSociety of Mary (Marists),[1] who would concentrate on local missions and foreign missionary work. Instead of selecting him as a missionary, however, the Marists appointed him as the spiritual director at the seminary of Belley, where he stayed for five years.[4] In 1833, he accompaniedJean-Claude Colin to Rome to seek approval of the nascent Society. In 1836, the Marists were asked to send missionaries to the territory of the southwest Pacific.[5] In return for eventual acceptance, the group were promised formal approbation, granted byPope Gregory XVI. Chanel, professed with the other aspirants as Marist on 24 September 1836, was made the superior of the band of seven Marist missionaries that set out on 24 December fromLe Havre on theDelphine accompanied by the new Bishop of Maronea (Western Oceania),Jean-Baptiste Pompallier.[6] Chanel was not deterred by the dangers of such a long sea voyage.
Chanel traveled first to theCanary Islands (8 January 1837), where his friend, Claude Bret, caught a flu-like virus which led to his death at sea (20 March 1837). Next, Chanel traveled toValparaíso,Chile (28 June), where the FrenchCongregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary ("Picpus Fathers"), who had care of theApostolic Vicariate of Eastern Oceania, had their base. His third and fourth stops were in theGambier Islands (13 September) and inTahiti (21 September), where the group transferred to the shipRaiatea. In that ship, they set sail (23 October) to drop off two missionaries atWallis, the main seat of the mission inTonga. The missionaries arrived atVava’u but were not welcome, and thus continued their journey to Futuna. Chanel went to neighboringFutuna, accompanied by a French lay brother, Marie-Nizier Delorme. They arrived on 8 November 1837 with an English Protestant layman named Thomas Boag, who had been resident on the island and had joined them at Tonga seeking passage to Futuna.[5]
The group was initially well received by theKing of Alo, Niuliki, whose dominion included Futuna. Chanel struggled to learn the local language but eventually mastered it. Despite little apparent success and severe want, he maintained endless patience and courage. On 2 February 1839, a cyclone destroyed almost all the houses and plantations on the island. Chanel laboured faithfully amid the greatest hardships, attending the sick, baptizing the dying, and winning from all the name of "the man with the kind heart".[6] It was a difficult mission, requiring him to cope with isolation and acclimatise to different foods and customs, but it eventually began to bear some fruit. A few natives had been baptised while a few more were being instructed.[4] King Niuliki believed Christianity would undermine his authority as high priest and king. When his son,Meitala, sought to bebaptised, the king sent a favored warrior, his son-in-law, Musumusu, to "do whatever was necessary" to resolve the problem. Musumusu went to Meitala and the two fought. Musumusu was injured in the fracas, and went to Chanel feigning need of medical attention. While Chanel tended him, a group of others ransacked the house. Musumusu himself took an ax and clubbed the priest to death, and Chanel died on 28 April 1841.[7]
Pompallier heard of Chanel’s death on 4 November 1841,while he was atAkaroa, and arranged for a French navalcorvette commanded by the Comte du Bouzet,L’Allier, to accompany the mission schoonerSancta Maria and sail on 19 November forWallis and Futuna, taking with himPhilippe Viard. The two vessels arrived atʻUvea on 30 December 1841. The bishop sent Viard to Futuna, where he landed on 18 January 1842. A chief named Maligi, who had disagreed with Chanel's murder, helped exhume Chanel's body and brought it to theL’Allier the next day, wrapped in several local mats.[8]
The ship's doctor, M. Rault, was able to verify the identity of the remains, bearing in mind the description of the manner of Chanel's death given previously by Marie-Nizier. The doctor undertook to embalm the remains, so that they could be kept, wrapping them in linen and placing them in a cask. The schoonerSancta Maria transported the body back toKororāreka, New Zealand, arriving on 3 May 1842.[9]
The relics remained in theBay of Islands until 1849, when they were accompanied by Petitjean toAuckland, New Zealand – most likely early in April 1849. They left New Zealand on 15 April 1849 by the shipMaukin, and arrived inSydney, Australia, on 4 May. Rocher received the cask holding the bones, and took it to the Procure Chapel atGladesville in Sydney on 7 May. Rocher was very careful in making the decision as to when to send the container on to England and France. He looked for a trustworthy captain, and a reliable person in London to receive the consignment, attend to the customs, and have it sent on toLyon. Early in 1850, Bernin, pro-vicar for Bishop Douarre,vicar-apostolic ofNew Caledonia, had to leave for France. He left Sydney for London on theWaterloo on 1 February 1850, taking Chanel's remains with him. On 1 June 1850, the remains arrived at the motherhouse of the Society of Mary in Lyon. The relics were returned to Futuna in 1977, with Chanel’s skull returned to the island in 1985.[9]
Pompallier sent Catherin Servant, François Roulleaux-Dubignon and Marie Nizier to return to the island, and they arrived on 9 June 1842. Eventually, most islanders converted to Catholicism. Musumusu himself converted, and as he lay dying, expressed the desire to be buried outside the church atPoi so those who came to revere Chanel would walk over his grave to reach it.[10]
ThetabloidThe Catholic Weekly has claimed that aTongan dance, theEke, originated aspenitential ritual for Chanel's death.[11]
Chanel was declared a martyr and beatified on 17 November 1889.[12] The cause for his canonization was opened on 10 June 1891,[12] and he was canonized on 12 June 1954 byPope Pius XII.[3] Chanel is recognized as theprotomartyr and patron saint of Oceania. Hisfeast day is 28 April, which is a public holiday inWallis and Futuna.[13]
Chanel isremembered in theChurch of England with acommemoration on 28 April.[14]
Marist priests and brothers working in Oceania cover a territory as big asWestern Europe. The area includes six sovereign nations and twoFrench overseas territories. The Province of Oceania is the largest in the Society of Mary.[3]
Severalschools andcolleges in Oceania as well asChanel College, Dublin, are named after him.
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