Today, July 7, is the memorial of Blessed Peter To Rot.
Peter was born in Papua New Guinea in 1912. His parents Angelo Tu Puia and Maria Ia Tumul were converts to Roman Catholicism.
He was described as a prayerful man, and was attracted to religious life. However, he ended up a lay catechist and involved himself in the missions. He was an effective educator, too.
In 1942, Japanese invaders arrested all missionaries and put them in concentration camps. Despite the obvious danger, Peter went on baptizing and instructing converts, caring for the sick, among others.
The Japanese went on overdrive. They forbid Christianity and demand that the people return to their lives pre-Christianity. Polygamy was among those the Japanese campaigned for, something which Peter openly opposed.
In 1945, the Japanese arrested Peter for gathering Christians in a meeting. That same year, Peter was given the lethal injection and struck on the back of his neck with a beam.
Pope St. John Paul II beatified Peter in Papua New Guinea in 1995.