Peter To Rot was already in prison. His cell was small, stuffy, and windowless. The soldiers only took him out of there from time to time to tend to the pigs. But even in this humiliating confinement, Peter remained serene. He prayed. He was grateful for the food brought by his mother and Paula, his…
During the first months of the Japanese occupation, there was still some tolerance for religious practice. But as the war progressed and fears of defeat grew, Japanese officials began to ban public prayers, disperse groups of worshippers, and monitor Christian leaders. Faith came to be seen as resistance. In Rakunai, Peter To Rot was at…
Peter To Rot was born in 1912 in the small village of Rakunai, Papua New Guinea, a land surrounded by tropical forests, volcanoes and islands. He was the son of Angelo Tu Puia, the village chief, and Maria La Tumul, both of whom were among the first converts to Catholicism thanks to the missionary work…