The Holy Cross Church (), also known as the Catholic Church of Hanga Roa, or simply the Hanga Roa Church is a

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in in the city of

Hanga Roa Hanga Roa (; ) (Rapanui language: ''Long bay'') is the main town, harbour, and seat of Easter Island, a municipality of Chile. It is located in the southern part of the island's west coast, in the lowlands between the extinct volcanoes of Terev ...

, the capital and greater city of the

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

, a Territory of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in the Pacific Ocean. The church was established in 1937, its first priest being Father Sebástian Englert. The interior of the Holy Cross Church includes locally-carved representations of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and

Christian saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

. The building is notable for its external decoration: its façade combines Christian religious motifs with native elements. The church is set in surrounding gardens. Masses are said in Spanish; hymns are sung in the

Rapa Nui language Rapa Nui or Rapanui (, Rapa Nui: , Spanish: ), also known as Pascuan () or ''Pascuense'', is an Eastern Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family. It is spoken on Easter Island, also known as ''Rapa Nui''. The island is home to ...

. The church's religious services are attended by both local Catholics and tourists attracted by the architecture of the site.

History

The Holy Cross Parish was established in December 1937 and belongs to the Diocese of Valparaíso. The church was founded thanks to the efforts of missionary Sebastian Englert.

Architecture and Furnishings

The church building is an example of

syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...

– a combination of Catholic motifs with local traditions. This is evident even on the facade, where a horizontal band features Christian symbols, such as the Ten Commandments tablets, keys to heaven, and angels, while the columns display island symbols: figures of

Tangata manu The ''Tangata manu'' ("bird-man," from "human beings" + "bird") was the winner of a traditional ritual competition on Rapa Nui ( Easter Island) to collect the first sooty tern () egg of the season from the nearby islet of Motu Nui, swim back to ...

, fish, and the

manutara ''Onychoprion'' is a genus of four species of terns in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek , "claw" or "nail", and , "saw". As a group, they have been variously called "brown-winged terns" or "brown-backed terns", though only ...

bird. The interior of the church is simple. Inside, near the entrance, there are sculptures depicting

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

and St.

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

. The upper part of the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

is decorated with symbols of

rongorongo Rongorongo ( or ; Rapa Nui: ) is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that has the appearance of writing or proto-writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, but none have been successful. Although ...

. On the left side of the church, there is a sculpture of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

, with Jesus’ face resembling a

moai kavakava A mo‘ai kavakava is a small wooden figure of a style originated by the Rapa Nui culture of Easter Island. Each figure resembles a standing, slightly stooped, male human with an emaciated body. The name ''mo‘ai kavakava'' is formed from '' mo ...

and a

reimiro A ''reimiro'' is a crescent-shaped pectoral ornament once worn by the people of Easter Island. The name comes from the Rapanui ('stern' or 'prow') and ('boat'). Thus the crescent represents a Polynesian canoe. Each side of the ''reimiro'' en ...

(a traditional crescent-shaped ornament) on his chest. Nearby, there is a tabernacle sculpted from a tree trunk, decorated with plant motifs. The cross above the main altar is made of volcanic stone, while the figure of Christ wears a headdress made of shells and bones. To the right of the main altar is the sculpture of the '' Our Lady of Rapa Nui''. The figure, created in 1970, is considered the first

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

image made on Easter Island by local artisans. Mary's figure is styled like a

moai Moai or moʻai ( ; ; ) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but h ...

, with a crown made of shells topped by the silhouette of a

. Her eyes are made of shells with pupils of

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

. The church also contains sculptures of St.

Rose of Lima Rose of Lima, TOSD (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) (, ), was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the pover ...

, the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

, and the Holy Spirit. The sculptures in the temple are made of wood and represent an attempt to integrate local tradition with Christianity.

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

in the church is conducted in Spanish, but hymns are sung in

Rapanui The Rapa Nui (Rapa Nui: , Spanish: ) are the Indigenous Polynesian peoples of Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population ...

Burials

Angata Angata, full name María Angata Veri Tahi ʻa Pengo Hare Koho ( – December 1914) was a Roman Catholic Rapa Nui religious leader from Easter Island during the late 19th and early 20th century. After experiencing a prophetic vision in which God ...

* Eugène Eyraud * Nicolás Pakarati * Sebastian Englert

References

Roman Catholic churches in Easter Island Roman Catholic churches completed in 1937 Hanga Roa 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Chile {{Oceania-church-stub

History

Architecture and Furnishings

Burials

See also

References