The Sacred Heart Church, also known as the Church of the Sacred Heart or Sacred Heart Catholic Church, is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church on the

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 ...

an island of Ovalau, situated on Beach Street in the town of

Levuka Levuka () is a Local government in Fiji, town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau (Fiji), Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division, Fiji, Eastern Division of Fiji. Prior to 1877, it was the capital of Fiji. At the c ...

. The church's clock tower serves as a lighthouse to guide the ships to the port through an opening in the reef. The church is part of the heritage status accorded to Levuka by its inscription as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Features

The church, presbytery, and its detached tower were built by Father Louyot in traditional

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. The church is laid out in the form of a

Latin Cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

with the weatherboard structure, measuring , able to accommodate 250 people. The

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

was added by Alexandre Fils. The presbytery, destroyed by a cyclone in 1905, was a two-storey wooden structure adjacent to the church. Ovalau church fiji

The high tower, square in shape, is constructed from stone masonry and measures . Its belfry contains four bells. The clock fitted on the tower is circular in shape and rings twice every hour at an interval of one minute; in local parlance the first ring is said to indicate the local "Fiji Time". The spire of the tower is fitted with a neon light in the form of a cross, which is used by ships to navigate safely through the Levuka Passage to the port; this light works in synchronization with another green light fitted on the hill.

History

The church was built in 1858 by the Marist Fathers as a part of the Presbytery of the Sacred Heart Mission, in Levuka, which was the first historical capital of Fiji during British colonial rule. Fr. served as the first priest of the church; the clock tower which is independent of the church was constructed to commemorate his joining the church. It is said to be the "oldest and best developed catholic mission in Fiji". The church was expanded in ensuing years. The church is part of the heritage status accorded to Levuka by its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 under Criteria (cultural) (ii) and (iv).

References

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite book, last1= Starnes , first1=Dean , last2= Luckham , first2=Nana , title=Lonely Planet Fiji, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2p-8nZIkNsC&pg=PA171, year=2009, publisher=Lonely Planet, isbn=978-1-74104-793-6 Roman Catholic churches in Fiji Roman Catholic churches completed in 1858 Levuka 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings