![Jean Baptiste Pompallier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Jean_Baptiste_Pompallier.jpg)
Jean-Baptiste François Pompallier (11 December 1801 – 21 December 1871) was the first Roman Catholic bishop in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and, with priests and brothers of the
Marist order, he organised the Roman Catholic Church throughout the country. He was born in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, France. He arrived in New Zealand in 1838 as
Vicar Apostolic
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of Western Oceania, but made New Zealand the Headquarters of His Catholic Mission.
In 1848, he became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. He returned to France in 1868 and died in
Puteaux
Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941.
La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the ...
, near Paris, on 21 December 1871, aged 69. His exhumed remains were returned to New Zealand in 2001 and they were re-interred under the altar at St Mary's,
Motuti
Kohukohu is a village on the Hokianga Harbour in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It was one of the first European settlements in New Zealand.
Kohukohu is situated on the northern shore of the harbour where it splits into two rivers, the ...
, in 2002. People can visit his remains.
Early life
Jean Baptiste François Pompallier was born in Lyons, France, on 11 December 1801,
["Pompallier History", Pompallier Hokianga Trust]
/ref> the son of Pierre and Françoise Pompallier. Pierre Pompallier died less than a year later. His mother then married Jean Marie Solichon, a Lyons silk manufacturer. François received the education of a gentleman. For a time he served as an officer of dragoons. In 1825 he entered the Lyons seminary, was ordained in 1829, and served for seven years in the archdiocese of Lyons, becoming closely acquainted with the Society of Mary founded by Jean-Claude Colin
The Venerable Jean-Claude Colin, S.M. was a French priest (7 August 1790 – 15 November 1875) who became the founder of the Society of Mary (Marists).
Early life
When Jean-Claude Colin’s parents married in 1771 his father Jacques was 24 years ...
.[Simmons, E. R., "Pompallier, Jean Baptiste François", ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'', 2010]
/ref>
Appointment and voyage
On Trinity Sunday 1835, Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...
created the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania, splitting it from the territory entrusted to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary () abbreviated SS.CC., is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men priests and brothers. The congregation is also known as the Picpus because their firs ...
as the area had proven too large. On 29 April 1836, he formally approved the "Priests of the Society of Mary" or Marist Fathers as a religious institute and assigned to it the mission of Western Oceania. Pompallier, who had been closely associated with the Marists, was named Vicar Apostolic, and consecrated Titular Bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of Maronea on 30 June 1836.[
On 24 December 1836, Pompallier sailed from ]Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
on the ''Delphine''. He was accompanied by five Marist missioners and two of Marcellin Champagnat
Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat (20 May 17896 June 1840), also known as Saint Marcellin Champagnat, was born in Le Rosey, village of Marlhes, near St. Etienne (Loire), France. He was the founder of the Marist Brothers, a religious congregat ...
's ''Petits Frères de Marie'' (Little Brothers of Mary), led by Peter Chanel
Peter Chanel (12 July 1803 – 28 April 1841), born Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr. Chanel was a member of the Society of Mary or "Marists" and was sent as a missionary to Oceania. He arrived on the is ...
. They arrived in early January at the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, where Father Claude Bret caught a fever and died at sea some two months later.[ They arrived at ]Valparaíso
Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
on 28 June, where the "Picpus Fathers", who had care of the Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Oceania The Vicariate Apostolic of Eastern Oceania was a Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction for some of the South Sea (Pacific) islands from 1833 till 1848.
History
The whole of Oceania had at first been entrusted by the Roman Congregation Propaganda ...
, had their base.
On 10 August 1837, Pompallier and the remaining priests and brothers embarked on the ''Europa''. ''Europa'' stopped at Mangareva
Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent pop ...
in the Gambier Islands on 13 September where Pompallier met Bishop Rouchouze, Vicar Apostolic for Eastern Oceania. On 21 September they reached Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
.
They left Tahiti on 23 October on the schooner ''Raiatea'' to drop off Father Pierre Bataillon
Pierre Bataillon (born in 1810 in Saint-Cyr-les-Vignes) was a French clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga
The Diocese of Tonga (Latin: ''Dioecesis Tongana'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of th ...
and Brother Joseph-Xavier at Wallis, the main seat of the mission in Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. The missionaries arrived at Vava’u but were refused landing there, and thus continued their journey to Futuna, arriving on 8 November 1837. There Chanel, a French lay brother Marie-Nizier Delorme, and an English Protestant layman named Thomas Boag, who had been resident on the island and had joined them at Tonga seeking passage to Futuna, left the group.
Pompallier travelled to Rotuma
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a large and unique Polynesian indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognisable minority within the population of Fiji, known as " ...
but was unable to leave anyone there. On arrival in Sydney in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
he learned much about the New Zealand mission from Bishop John Polding
John Bede Polding, OSB (18 November 1794 in 16 March 1877 ) was the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Early life
Polding was born in Liverpool, England on 18 November 1794. His father was of Dutch descent and his mother ...
.
New Zealand
On 30 December Pompallier, Fr Louis Catherin Servant SM and Brother Michel (Antoine) Colombon sailed for the Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...
and arrived at the home of Thomas and Mary Poynton
Thomas Poynton (1802 – 1892) and Mary Poynton (1812 – 1891) and their children were among the first Catholic families to settle in New Zealand. They were instrumental in bringing Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier to New Zealand and wer ...
on 10 January 1838. It was to be his headquarters and the chief scene of his labour for the next 30 years.
Pompallier celebrated the first Traditional Latin Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
in New Zealand at Totara Point on 13 January 1838. He immediately set about establishing Catholic mission stations. He quickly learned both English and Māori. Bishop Pompallier travelled extensively by schooner around both North and South Islands, setting up mission stations.[ By 1843, he had established stations in Hokianga, ]Kororareka
Russell, known as Kororāreka in the early 19th century, was the first permanent European settlement and seaport in New Zealand. It is situated in the Bay of Islands, in the far north of the North Island.
History and culture
Māori settle ...
, Mangakahia, Kaipara, Tauranga
Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...
, Akaroa
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled in standard ...
, Matamata
Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...
, Opotiki, Maketu
Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand.
Maketu is located in the Western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow. It is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on t ...
, Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, Otaki, Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
, Rangiaowhia
Rangiaowhia (or Rangiawhia, or Rangiaohia) was, for over 20 years, a thriving village on a ridge between two streams in the Waikato region, about east of Te Awamutu. From 1841 it was the site of a very productive Māori mission station until the ...
and Whakatane.
The mission station in Kororareka encompassed the area surrounding what is now known as Pompallier House
Pompallier House is a nineteenth-century building located in Russell, New Zealand which once served as the headquarters to the French Catholic mission to the Western Pacific. It is named after Jean Baptiste Pompallier, the first vicar apostolic ...
, Russell. A printing press was imported, and, with other Catholic missionaries, Pompallier sponsored the printing of prayer booklets in Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
, some of the earliest Māori publications. A tannery
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
was set up to produce leather with which the pamphlets and books were bound.
Marist reinforcements arrived on the ''Reine de Paix'' on 18 June 1839 (Fathers Baty, and Petit and Brothers Elie Regis, Augustin and Florentin). On 8 December, four more Marists arrived. They were Fathers Philippe Viard
Philippe Joseph Viard (11 October 1809, Lyon, France – 2 June 1872) was a French priest and the first Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Wellington, New Zealand.
Early life
Born to Claude and Pierrette Charlotte (née Rolland) Viard in Lyon, h ...
, Petit-Jean, Comte and Chevron and Brother Attale.
Pompallier was present at Waitangi on the day before and the morning of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...
, which was held across the bay from Kororareka, on 6 February 1840. Pompallier pushed for a guaranteed freedom of religion. Fifty years later, in his 1890 publication about the Treaty, William Colenso
William Colenso (17 November 1811 – 10 February 1899) FRS was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician. He attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and later wrote an accou ...
recorded that Pompellier arrived dressed in full "canonicals" (ceremonial robes) and did not appear at ease. Nevertheless, mainly due to Pompellier's insistence on the matter of religious tolerance, Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to:
Politicians
* Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign
* Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), Member of Parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...
said to those present "E mea ana te Kawana, ko nga whakapono katoa, o Ingarani, o nga Weteriana, o Roma, me te ritenga Maori hoki, e tiakina ngatahitia e ia." ("The Governor says the several faiths eliefsof England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also the Maori custom, shall be alike protected by him."). Pompallier was worried the treaty would hamper his mission and Colenso overheard that he had advised some Catholic Maori chiefs not to sign the treaty. Having secured the statement of religious freedom he did not stay, he left the gathering after the discussion and before the parties signed.
In November 1841, Pompallier learned that Peter Chanel had been killed at Futuna the previous April. He and Viard went to retrieve the body and brought it back to Kororāreka, before eventually being returned to the Society of Mary in Lyon.
A separate Apostolic Vicariate of New Zealand was erected in 1842. Pompallier then became the Vicar Apostolic of New Zealand. In 1846, with Viard already appointed as his assistant bishop, Pompallier set off to Rome for his Ad limina visit.[
]
Conflict and resolution
The missionaries serving with Pompallier were Marists. Difficulties arose between Marist superior Jean-Claude Colin, in Lyon, and Bishop Pompallier over jurisdiction and finances. These problems were aggravated by the difficulty of long-distance communication. Colin wished to receive reports from the Marist missioners on the state of the mission. Pompallier accused him of constant interference from Lyon.
The matter was settled in 1848, while Pompallier was still in Rome. The vicariate was divided into the Dioceses of Auckland (covering the northern half of the North Island) and Wellington (the rest of New Zealand). Pompallier was appointed Bishop of Auckland, which was to be staffed by secular clergy. Philippe Viard
Philippe Joseph Viard (11 October 1809, Lyon, France – 2 June 1872) was a French priest and the first Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Wellington, New Zealand.
Early life
Born to Claude and Pierrette Charlotte (née Rolland) Viard in Lyon, h ...
became the Apostolic Administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
of Wellington, served by the Marists. On 8 April 1850 Pompallier returned from Europe with 2 priests, 10 seminarians and 8 Irish Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...
. He established St Mary's Seminary to train the seminarians. He became a British subject in 1851. While in Europe, Pompallier traveled extensively raising funds and personnel for his diocese. He returned on 30 December 1860, he returned with 8 Franciscans, 8 seminarians, and 4 French women who were intended to start a new order, the Sisters of the Holy Family. The group included Suzanne Aubert
Suzanne Aubert (19 June 1835 – 1 October 1926), better known to many by her cleric name Sister Mary Joseph or Mother Aubert, was a Catholic sister who started a home for orphans and the under-privileged in Jerusalem, New Zealand on the Whangan ...
. During his absence, the Auckland area had grown considerably with the establishment of four Fencibles
The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...
settlements.
Amid Pompallier's difficulties there was another consolation. On 9 March 1852, James and Walter McDonald arrived in Auckland from Ireland. James had been ordained in Dublin; Pompallier ordained Walter in Auckland. The brothers gave Pompallier great service. They became his loyal lieutenants and good friends and especially assisted Pompallier as diocesan administrators and in attending to the Māori mission.
Death
Through the 1850s, Pompallier was based in Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. A street (Pompallier Terrace) in the suburb of Ponsonby is named after him. Pompallier suffered from arthritis. In 1868, old and ill, he returned to France. He resigned on 23 March 1869 and was made honorary archbishop of Amasia. Pompallier died in Puteaux
Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941.
La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the ...
, near Paris, on 21 December 1871, ten days after his 70th birthday.
On 9 January 2001, his remains were exhumed. A contingent of New Zealanders organised a pilgrimage trip in the style of a hikoi, to return his remains to New Zealand. The ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...
of Pompallier's remains were accompanied 24 hours a day, as they travelled from Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
to Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...
, where they were re-interred under the altar at St Mary's, Motuti
Kohukohu is a village on the Hokianga Harbour in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It was one of the first European settlements in New Zealand.
Kohukohu is situated on the northern shore of the harbour where it splits into two rivers, the ...
, on the Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...
Harbour, in 2002.
Memory
Educational institutions named in his honour include Pompallier Catholic College
Pompallier Catholic College is a Catholic co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Maunu in Whangarei, New Zealand. It is one of nine secondary schools within the Marist network. Pompallier Catholic College is named after Bisho ...
, Whangarei (1969). There are Pompallier houses at Sacred Heart College, Auckland
, motto_translation = Take Courage And Act Manfully
, type = State-integrated Day & boarding Secondary school
, religion = Roman Catholic Marist
, gender = Boys-only
, patr ...
(1903), Our Lady of the Rosary School, Waiwhetu (1932), St. Bernard's College, Lower Hutt (1947), Carmel College, Auckland (1957), St John's College, Hamilton
St John's College is a state-integrated school, state-integrated Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand, Catholic boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand, with a school roll of 816 as of March 2019. The scho ...
(1961), St Peter's College, Gore (1969), Liston College, Auckland (1974), St Mary's Rotorua, Garin College, Nelson (2002) and other New Zealand secondary and primary schools, such as Pomallier primary, Kiatia. Sancta Maria College, Auckland (2004) commemorates Pompallier and his work through the name of his schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
, the ''Sancta Maria''.
See also
* Roman Catholicism in New Zealand
The Catholic Church in New Zealand ( mi, Te Hāhi Katorika ki Aotearoa) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope in Rome, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the New Zealand bishops.
Catholicism was intro ...
Notes
References
E. R. Simmons. ''Pompallier, Jean Baptiste François - Biography'', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1 September 2010
(retrieved 2 March 2011).
*Keys, L., ''The Life and Times of Bishop Pompallier'', The Pegasus Press, Christchurch, 1957.
External links
''Bishop Pompallier'', The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand website
(retrieved 2 March 2011).
(retrieved 12 February 2011)
"Journey across Aotearoa in the steps of Jean-Baptiste Pompallier", ''New Zealand Herald''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pompallier, Jean Baptiste
1802 births
1871 deaths
Roman Catholic bishops of Auckland
French Roman Catholic missionaries
Clergy from Lyon
Roman Catholic missionaries in New Zealand
19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand
French emigrants to New Zealand
Treaty of Waitangi