George Hamilton Pearce (January 9, 1921 – August 30, 2015) was the first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Apia,

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

, and the first Archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Suva The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Suva (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Suvana'') is a Metropolitan Archdiocese in Fiji. It is responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Rarotonga and Tarawa and Nauru and —as of 21 March 2003—the Mission '' ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

.Profile
catholic-hierarchy.org; accessed August 30, 2015. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, his education included Saint Columbkille's Elementary School in

Brighton, Massachusetts Brighton is a Municipal annexation in the United States, former town and current Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of ...

, Maryvale Preparatory Seminary in

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...

, and at Marist College and Seminary in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popu ...

. He was ordained to the

presbyterate Presbyterium is a modern term used in the Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches after the Second Vatican Council in reference to a college of priests, in active ministry, of an individual particular church such as a diocese or eparchy. T ...

on February 3, 1947, by Archbishop (and future Cardinal)

Richard Cushing Richard James Cushing (August 24, 1895 – November 2, 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builder ...

and was appointed Vicar Apostolic of the Navigators' Archipelago and Titular Bishop of Attalea in Pamphylia on February 29, 1956. He was consecrated to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on June 29, 1956, in Boston by Cushing. On June 21, 1966, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

elevated the vicariate apostolic to the dignity of a diocese and Pearce became the first Bishop of Apia. He was appointed as the first Archbishop of

Suva, Fiji Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divis ...

on June 22, 1967. He retired on April 10, 1976, and lived in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

where he led a Marian prayer group at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Pearce visited

Fatima Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...

, Lourdes, and Medjugorje. Pearce died on August 30, 2015, at the age of 94.Rest In Peace Archbishop George H. Pearce
, diocesepvd.org; accessed August 30, 2015.

References

Sources

Biography of Msgr. George Hamilton Pearce profile
dioceseofprovidence.org; accessed August 30, 2015. * ''Galuega O Le Sinoti'' (''Acts of the Synod of the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia''), December 7–14, 1990, promulgated, May 1, 1991, Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (Apia, Samoa). 1921 births 2015 deaths American Roman Catholic archbishops Clergy from Boston Clergy from Providence, Rhode Island Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Oceania American expatriates in Fiji Roman Catholic bishops of Samoa–Apia Roman Catholic archbishops of Suva 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests {{Fiji-bio-stub