A Call to Holiness Rooted in Baptism: Apostolic Nuncio Highlights the Life and Witness of Saint Peter ToRot

Vunapope, East New Britain – Thursday, 11December 2025

The four-day celebrations in honour of Saint Peter ToRot began solemnly and prayerfully with the Opening Eucharistic Celebration at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Vunapope, where more than 2,000 Catholic faithful from dioceses across Papua New Guinea gathered in faith, unity, and thanksgiving.

His Excellency Archbishop Maurizio Bravi, Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, delivers the Homily during the Opening Eucharist in Sacred Heart Cathedral Vunapope.

Presiding at the Eucharist and preaching the homily was His Excellency Archbishop Maurizio Bravi, Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In a deeply inspiring and catechetical homily, Archbishop Bravi presented Saint Peter ToRot not only as a national hero of faith, but as a universal model of Christian holiness rooted in baptism, family life, the Eucharist, and courageous witness.

Addressing Archbishop Rochus Tatamai MSC, Cardinal Sir John Ribat MSC, the assembled bishops, clergy, religious, civil authorities, and the faithful, the Apostolic Nuncio reminded the congregation that moments such as this—when the Church formally recognises the holiness of one of her sons—are moments of profound grace.

“In the life of the Church,” Archbishop Bravi said, “there are moments of great significance. Among these is the recognition of the holiness of the life of the baptised person.” He recalled that it was through the supreme apostolic authority of the Popes—Saint John Paul II in 1995 and Pope Leo XIV on 19 October this year—that Peter ToRot was first declared Blessed and now proclaimed a Saint.

A Saint Because He Was Holy

Archbishop Bravi emphasised that Peter ToRot did not become a saint simply because he died a martyr. Rather, “Peter ToRot is a martyr of Christ because he was a saint.” His martyrdom, he explained, was the final seal of a life already lived entirely in holiness.

Though his earthly life lasted only 33 years, the Apostolic Nuncio noted that it was a life shaped daily by a conscious and constant response to God’s call. Peter ToRot’s final act of witness was heroic, but it flowed naturally from a lifetime of fidelity to Christ.

Four Milestones on the Path to Holiness

In a structured and pastoral reflection, Archbishop Bravi outlined four key milestones that marked Peter ToRot’s journey to holiness—milestones that also speak powerfully to Christians today.

The first was his family. Born in 1912 in Rakunai to Angelo ToPuia and Maria Ia Tumul, Peter learned the faith first and foremost at home. His parents, among the early converts of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1898, passed on a deep Catholic faith that shaped his entire life. “It was at home,” the Nuncio stressed, “not in school, where he learned the most important lessons of his life.”

The second milestone was his devotion to the Eucharist. From his First Holy Communion, Peter developed a tender, simple, and profound love for the Eucharist, attending Mass daily and serving at the altar. So strong was this devotion that he sought permission to live near the church in order to remain close to the source of his strength. Archbishop Bravi described the Eucharist as “Peter ToRot’s biggest secret.”

The third milestone was his formation and service as a catechist. Enrolled at St Paul’s College in Taliligap at the age of 18, Peter ToRot dedicated the rest of his life to teaching the faith he had first received. “As he learned the faith,” the Nuncio said, “he became a teacher of the faith,” embodying the mission of the lay catechist in the life of the Church.

The fourth milestone was his married life. Married to Paula Ia Varpit in 1936, Peter lived marriage as a true Christian vocation. The Apostolic Nuncio highlighted their shared prayer life, mutual respect, openness, and joint responsibility in raising their children, presenting their marriage as a powerful witness to the sanctity of family life.

Faithful unto Death

The homily culminated in the account of Peter ToRot’s final witness during the Japanese occupation, when he courageously opposed the introduction of polygamy, recognising it as contrary to the Gospel and Church teaching. Arrested in 1945 and later murdered by lethal injection, Peter ToRot gave his life rather than compromise his faith.

Recalling Peter’s final words—“I must fulfil my duty as a witness in the Church of Jesus Christ”—Archbishop Bravi described him as “a witness of holiness in life, a martyr in death.”

A Challenge to Every Baptised Person

While encouraging admiration for Saint Peter ToRot, the Apostolic Nuncio challenged the faithful to go further. “Is admiration enough?” he asked. Drawing a direct connection between Peter’s life and the lives of all Christians, he urged the faithful to examine how they live their baptism, how they nurture their faith, and how they build their families.

“Admiring this young man,” he said, “is an opportunity to renew ourselves in Christian faith, to correct what is contrary to the Gospel, and to straighten out those situations unworthy of a baptised person.”

The homily concluded with a united invocation, as the entire congregation called upon the intercession of the new saint:“Saint Peter ToRot, pray for us.”

The Opening Eucharist set a profound spiritual tone for the four-day celebrations, inviting the Church in Papua New Guinea—and beyond—to walk anew on the path of holiness, inspired by the life and witness of her first canonised saint.