Peter Chanel
| Saint Peter Chanel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Protomartyr of Oceania | |
| Born |
12 July 1803 Montrevel-en-Bresse, Ain, France |
| Died | 28 April 1841 (aged 37) Futuna Island |
| Venerated in | The Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 17 November 1889, Rome by Pope Leo XIII |
| Canonized | 12 June 1954, Rome by Pope Pius XII |
| Major shrine | Futuna |
| Feast | 28 April |
| Attributes | Gentle, Kind, Encouraging |
| Patronage | Oceania |
Saint Peter Chanel (12 July 1803 – 28 April 1841), born Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr.
Chanel was born in 1803 in the hamlet of La Potière near Montrevel-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 schooling at a local school Saint-Didier-d'Aussiat his piety and intelligence attracted the attention of a visiting priest from Cras, Fr. Trompier, and he was put into Church-sponsored education at Cras in the autumn of 1814. He made his first communion on 23 March 1817.
It was from that time that his attraction for the missions abroad began. His interest was the result of reading letters from missionaries sent back by Bishop DuBourg from America. 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 at Meximieux where he won several awards and class prizes in Latin, Christian doctrine and speech, he went to Belley in 1823, and the major seminary at Brou in 1824.
He was ordained on 15 July 1827 and spent a brief time as an assistant priest at Ambérieu-en-Bugey. At Ambérieu he also read letters from a former curate from that parish who was at that time a missionary in India. There he met Claude Bret, who was to become his friend and also one of the first Marist Missionaries. The following year, Chanel applied to the Bishop 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 of the parish of Crozet, which he revitalized in that short time.
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