Catholic communities in a Pacific nation celebrated their national pride recently when the country's first saint was canonized.
Papua New Guinea is marking its first citizen to become a saint.
Peter ToRot was one of seven people canonized at a Mass in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, held last week by Pope Leo.
The process was put into motion by the late Pope Francis, in one of his final acts. Many people traveled from Papua New Guinea to Rome to attend the service.
The Guardian reports ceremonies were held across Papua New Guinea and thousands were believed to have attended services in the capital of Port Moresby. About a quarter of the country's 12 million residents are Catholic.
ToRot was born in 1912 and baptized into the Catholic church at an early age. He served as a teacher in his village and was responsible for his local parish during World War II, when the Japanese army occupied the region. He stood up for religious values in the face of Japanese oppression.
After the destruction of his parish in 1943, he built another church from tree branches to hold services in secret. He kept records of baptisms and weddings there.
ToRot and others continued their work until he was imprisoned and executed by lethal injection by the Japanese in 1945.
