In the 1940s, Japanese forces occupied Papua New Guinea and introduced legislation to legalize polygamy.
Peter To Rot was a lay catechist who defied Japanese law and continued to promote traditional marriage, firmly believing that marriage was between one man and one woman.
Religious activities were also banned, but Peter continued to teach the faith secretly, doing what he could to hold the local Catholic community together.
Spies were sent to trap Peter, and eventually "evidence" was mounted against him for his religious activities. He was sent to the Vunaiara concentration camp, where he was killed by lethal injection on July 7, 1945, at age 33.
St. John Paul II beatified Peter To Rot on January 17, 1995 and spoke highly of Peter's defense of marraige.
Not only did he defend marriage in word, but also in deed.
Peter To Rot remains a model for all married people and lay catechists and was chosen as one of the patron saints of World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia.
