Peter To Rot

Peter To Rot (; 5 March 1912 – 7 July 1945) was a Papua New Guinean Catholic who was canonized for his continued practice of Catholicism in the face of Japanese repression during World War II. He served as a catechist in his village and was entrusted with the leadership of the local parish during World War II when Imperial Japanese forces occupied the region and imprisoned Catholic missionaries. In response to Japanese oppression of his community, he publicly opposed their actions and continued to hold secret prayer services after the Japanese restricted him from active pastoral service. To Rot married in 1936, and he criticized Japanese attempts to encourage his people to return to the pre-Christian practice of taking multiple wives. He was executed by the Japanese in 1945.

His beatification was celebrated in Papua New Guinea in 1995.

Life Education and marriage Peter To Rot was born on 5 March 1912 on the New Pomerania island in the then-German New Guinea. He was the third of six children born to Angelo Tu Puia (the well-respected village chief) and Maria Ia Tumul. Both of his parents converted to Catholicism in 1898.

Commemoration In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged all married couples to look to To Rot's "example of courage," and he later dispatched Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kium to participate in the celebrations at Rabaul to mark the centennial of the late catechist's birth. The pope discussed To Rot in his "ad limina" meeting with the Papuan bishops on 9 June 2012, and Archbishop of Rabaul Francesco Panfilo issued a pastoral letter around that time which addressed the life and example of To Rot.

Canonization On 31 March 2025, Pope Francis promulgated a decree of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints announcing the canonization of Peter To Rot. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIV on 19 October 2025.

Feast To Rot's liturgical feast is affixed to the date of his death, as is the norm. He is included in the Roman Rite liturgical calendar in his native Papua New Guinea, as well as in the Solomon Islands; in Australia; and for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.