Canonization of MSC Blessed Peter ToRot

The Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Church of Papua New Guinea have their first saint. Peter ToRot was a layman, married to Paula La Varpit and a responsible father of three children. In his community, he was a catechist and supported the faith of his brothers and sisters in difficult circumstances.

After the invasion of the Japanese troops on the island of New Britain between 1942 and 1945, missionary work by priests and religious organisations was banned in the Diocese of Rabaul. Peter ToRot, as a catechist and layman, understood that he had to take responsibility for not abandoning the community. ‘Now the time has come to defend the faith of my people, to fight against this pagan decision and to defend the Sacrament of Christian Marriage, even if it means losing my life’. So he took on the role of pastor to his brothers in those difficult times, which cost him his life, being killed by the police. Therefore, his martyrdom is the best testimony of the maturity of his faith, an example and a spur for all God’s people.

As a person faithful to the Gospel, he continued his pastoral work as a catechist, focusing on the poor, the sick and the orphans, even when the Japanese military banned it. His strongest commitment was in accompanying engaged couples on their way to marriage. He became a firm believer in the sacrament and the marriage bond, which was in direct conflict with the polygamy promoted by the Japanese. Peter ToRot had reproved a policeman who tried to seduce a married woman. He succeeded, with the help of her father, in preventing the marriage from taking place. This confrontation was the reason why he denounced him to the police, telling of his Christian practices with the community and the celebration of Catholic marriages. He was condemned, imprisoned and poisoned in 1945, refusing to give up his evangelising work and renounce his faith.

John Paul II beatified him on 17 January 1995 in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

Since then, his holiness and miracles have been recognised throughout the country, including in the neighbouring Solomon Islands, as far away as Australia. Much has been written about him, recognising him as a true saint. Numerous graces are attributed to him through his intercession, which has further enhanced his sanctity.

Given the great difficulty in obtaining the scientific documentation necessary to prove these miracles in the hospitals of Papua New Guinea, but having established the existence of numerous evidences, in 2024, the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands asked the Holy Father that the process of canonisation be exempted from the proofs of miracles. This request was reiterated during the Pope’s Apostolic Journey to Peter ToRot’s native country last year.

Today, 31 March 2025, we have received with great joy, the promulgation of the Decree of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in which it is communicated that on 28 March 2025, the Holy Father authorised to promulgate that Peter ToRot be included in the future Consistory that will cover his canonisation.