ACTIVITIES BASED ON THE LIFE OF ST PETER CHANEL
The following information sheets are a summary of the life
of St Peter Chanel. They are aimed at Year 9 and ‘The
Beginnings of the Church in Aotearoa New Zealand’, the 9F
topic. This information could also be used with Year 10 in
‘Inspiring Men and Women’, the 10E topic.
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Suggested Activities:
Using the information provided the students could create a
visual timeline on the life of Peter Chanel.
This could be done in their books or on paper and put up on the
classroom wall.
If it was done on paper the students could be put into pairs and
given one of the bullet points to illustrate. As a class they could
then put all of the events in order and attach them to the wall,
thus creating a pictorial timeline.
The students could write quiz questions based on the material.
Each pair or group could then ask the rest of the class the
questions and a point scheme could be invented. Creating a quiz
show activity is a great way of reinforcing the material and
assessing student knowledge.
The students could be given a world map which they then use to
trace the journey of St Peter Chanel from Lyon to Futuna.
The students in small groups could take turns being Peter
Chanel and be interviewed by the rest of the group. It could be
set up like a ‘This is Your Life St Peter Chanel’ show.
ST PETER CHANEL
1803 – 1841
Timeline
 1803 Peter Chanel was born in
the village of Cuet near Lyon in
France.
 As a young boy he helped out on
the farm but didn’t really begin
his school education until he was
eleven.
 He went to various schools then
entered the seminary at Brou.
He was a gentle, respected
student.
 1827 Peter was ordained a
priest.
 1831 He joined the group called
the Society of Mary. This group
was called to serve others as
Mary did.
 1836 He was asked to be the
Superior of a group of four
priests and three brothers who
sailed to the Pacific with Bishop
Pompallier as missionaries.
 1837 November, Fr Chanel and
Br Nizier were dropped on an
island north east of Fiji called
Futuna.
 Peter worked on the island with
about 1000 Polynesians from two
different groups.
 Fr Chanel found it hard to learn
the language but he helped the
sick and needy. They called him
the ‘kind hearted man’.
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He was not successful in
converting many of the native
people to become Catholics. The
King Niuliki was afraid he would
lose power over his people if
they became Catholic. He
threatened his people with death
if they converted.
A crisis occurred when Niuliki’s
eldest son decided to become a
Catholic.
1841 28th April, Musumusu came
to Fr Peter’s hut and pretended
to need medical help. When
Peter wasn’t looking he attacked
him, clubbed and speared him to
death.
1841 Before the end of this
year the main persecutors or
‘haters’ of the Christians,
including King Niuliki, died.
The next year Bishop Pompallier
visited the island. The new
leaders asked him for another
missionary.
Fr Servant was their new
missionary and by 1844 every
member on the island had
become Catholic.
Peter Chanel’s remains were
eventually buried on Futuna and
they lie in a special shrine. The
grave of his attacker lies
nearby.
1954 on June 13th, Peter Chanel
the martyr was made a saint.
He is the patron saint of
Oceania which includes New
Zealand.