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| St. Peter Chanel |
History
Peter was a French priest
who went to the South Pacific on a missionary journey. Peter visited the island
of Futuna with two laymen. King Niuliki was happy to meet them – at first. But
once the missionaries learned the local language and started to teach people
about Jesus, the king felt his position as high priest in their pagan religion
was being compromised. When the prince decided to become a Christian, that was
the last straw. King Niuliki had the missionaries killed. But that didn’t end
Christianity on that island. Within months, almost everybody was a Christian,
including the man who killed Peter Chanel.
Activity
Christians on the island
of Futuna were very sorry that Saint Peter Chanel had been martyred. They
created a special song and dance as a prayer of penitence. It’s called the eke,
and it is still performed today. Watch this video to see it and think about how God was able to use Saint Peter
Chanel to spread the Gospel even after he was killed.
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