Church of Pierre Chanel travel guide

Sight on Futuna

Futuna's most famous sight is the Church of Pierre Chanel at Poi on the northeast coast, a peculiar church with a stepped tower erected to honor Polynesia's first and only Catholic saint (canonized 1954). Chanel's relics were returned from France in 1976 and they're now kept in a smaller octagonal chapel next to the main church. His bones are held in a glass showcase near the entrance, and an adjacent silver casket contains the saint's skull. A stone set in the chapel's floor marks the precise spot where Chanel was killed, and two of the war clubs used to kill him are on display. King Niuliki, who feared the missionary was usurping his position, had Chanel martyred on 28 April, 1841, four years after his arrival on the island. A small museum room behind the showcase contains other mementos.

[Extract from Moon Handbooks South Pacific by David Stanley, Avalon Travel Publishing]

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