Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia (Latin: Archidioecesis Samoa–Apiana; Samoan: Puleaga Fa'aAkiepikopo Samoa–Apia) consists of the Independent State of Samoa.

Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia

Archidioecesis Samoa–Apiana

Puleaga Fa'aAkiepikopo Samoa–Apia
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Location
Country Independent State of Samoa
Territory Samoa
Ecclesiastical provinceSamoa-Apia
Statistics
Area2,922 km2 (1,128 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)
(as of 2010)
189,000
42,500 (22.5%)
Parishes38
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established20 August 1850 (170 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
ArchbishopAlapati Lui Mataeliga
Map

Territory of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia

History

In 1842, the Propaganda Fide created the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Oceania that included New Caledonia, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji Islands. This lost territory with establishment by canonical erection by the Holy See on August 20, 1850, of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Navigators' Archipelago, entrusted to the Society of Mary (Marists). On January 4, 1957, the Vatican changed the name of the Vicariate Apostolic to Samoa and the Tokelau Islands.

The vicariate apostolic was elevated to the Diocese of Apia on June 21, 1966, and made suffragan to the metropolitan see of Suva, Fiji. On August 10, 1974, the name of the diocese was changed to Diocese of Apia o Samoa and Tokelau; and it was changed again on December 3, 1975 to the Diocese of Samoa and Tokelau.

On September 10, 1982, the diocese was elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese taking the name of the See city, Apia. Simultaneously, the Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago was created from a portion of the former Diocese of Samoa Tokelau and made suffragan to the metropolitan see of Apia.[1]

Ordinaries

Monseigneur Pierre-Jean BROYER
  • Pierre Bataillon S.M.(1842–1870)
  • Aloys Elloy, S.M. (1870–1878)
  • Jean-Armand Lamaze, S.M. (1879–1896)
  • Pierre-Jean Broyer S. M. (1896–1918)[2]
  • Joseph Darnand S. M. (1919–1953)
  • Jean Baptiste Dieter S. M. (1953–1955)
  • George Hamilton Pearce S. M. (1956–1967), appointed Archbishop of Suva, Fiji, Pacific (Oceania)
  • Pio Taofinu'u S. M. (1968–2002), elevated to Cardinal in 1973
  • Alapati Lui Mataeliga (2002– )

Ecclesiastical province

See: Ecclesiastical Province of Samoa–Apia.

As the metropolitan see, the archdiocese has two suffragans: the Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago and the Mission Sui Iuris of Tokelau. Until March 2003, the Mission Sui Iuris of Funafuti was also a suffragan, but since that date it is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Suva.

See also

References

  1. "Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  2. Biography about Mgr Pierre-Jean Broyer in the article dedicated to his birthplace on the French Wikipedia. fr:Illiat

Further reading

  • Galuega O Le Sinoti (Acts of the Snyod [of the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia]), December 7–14, 1990, promulgated, May 1, 1991, Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. Apia, Samoa.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.