Papua New Guinea lay catechist among seven new saints

By CathNews New Zealand

October 21st, 2025

Pope Leo XIV incenses the relics of the seven new saints displayed near an image of Mary and the Child Jesus during the canonisation Mass in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on October 19. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Leo XIV proclaimed Papua New Guinea’s first saint, Peter To Rot, along with six other new saints in a canonisation Mass on World Mission Sunday. Source: Catholic News Agency.

In the second canonisation liturgy of his pontificate, before a congregation of 70,000 people in St Peter’s Square on October 19, Pope Leo said the new saints were witnesses who kept the lamp of faith burning.

“Indeed, they themselves became lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ. May their intercession assist us in our trials and their example inspire us in our shared vocation to holiness,” he said.

Among the new saints were two martyrs. St Peter To Rot, a lay catechist, was martyred in Papua New Guinea during the Japanese occupation in World War II. St Peter To Rot defied Japanese authorities who permitted polygamy, defending Christian marriage until his death.

St Ignatius Maloyan, an Armenian Catholic archbishop, was executed during the Armenian genocide after refusing to convert to Islam.

Also canonised on October 19 were Venezuela’s first saints – St Maria Rendiles Martínez and St José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros.

St Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer, was among those canonised. He had been a militant opponent of the Church and became a Satanist, but converted, dedicating himself to charity.

The other two new saints are St Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, Italy, and St Maria Troncatti, a Salesian sister born in Italy in 1883 who became a missionary in Ecuador in 1922.

The canonisation coincided with World Mission Sunday. Before praying the Angelus after the Mass, Pope Leo XIV, who was once an Augustinian missionary himself in Peru, urged the faithful to pray for today’s missionaries.

“The Church is entirely missionary, but today we pray especially for those men and women who left everything to bring the Gospel to those who do not know it. They are missionaries of hope among the people. May the Lord bless them,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV entrusted his prayer for peace to the intercession of the new saints, praying in particular for the Holy Land, Ukraine and other places of conflict.

FULL STORY

Pope Leo XIV canonizes 7 new saints, including first from Venezuela and Papua New Guinea (By Courtney Mares/CNA)

Pope: Do Christians respond to cries for help with love? (CNS)