Peter Pernin

Jean-Pierre Pernin, also known as Peter Pernin in America, was a French Roman Catholic priest, who came to the United States in 1864 as a missionary, working in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. As Catholic pastor of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, he survived the Peshtigo fire on October 8–9, 1871. His survivor’s memoir, written originally in French, published simultaneously in English translation, and entitled Le doigt de Dieu est là! / The Finger of God Is There!, is a document important to the history of the fire.