The Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania was a Roman Catholic

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

jurisdiction in the Southern Pacific.

History

The whole of Oceania had at first been entrusted by the Roman Congregation for the missions,

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

, to the Society of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1825); but the territory proving too large, the western portion was afterwards formed into an Apostolic vicariate and given to the Society of Mary (1836),

Jean Baptiste Pompallier Jean-Baptiste François Pompallier (11 December 1801 – 21 December 1871) was the first Roman Catholic bishop in New Zealand and, with priests and brothers of the Marist order, he organised the Roman Catholic Church throughout the country. H ...

being appointed first ordinary of the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Oceania. In 1842, the

created an Apostolic Vicariate of Central Oceania, including

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, Tonga,

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 and Apolima); ...

and

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 consis ...

Islands. On 23 July 1847, it lost territory to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of New Caledonia, on 20 August 1850 again to the newly established Apostolic Vicariate of Archipelago of the Navigators and 27 March 1863 to the newly established Apostolic Prefecture of Fiji Island. After these subdivisions, the vicariate included only the

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

Wallis Islands Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji t ...

, Futuna and Niue. The Tonga Islands extend from 15° to 22° S. lat. and from 173° to 176° W. long. Niue is three hundred miles to the east. The Wallis Islands lie in 13° S. lat. and 178° W. long.; Futuna, in 40° 14' S. lat. and 179° 33' W. long. These archipelagos were divided among several more or less constitutional monarchies; the Kingdoms of Tonga, Niue, Wallis and the two Kingdoms of Futuna. Tonga and Niue were under British protectorate, Wallis and Futuna, under French. By the early 20th century, freedom of worship was theoretically recognized everywhere except in Niue, which was exclusively

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

; Wallis and Futuna were entirely Catholic. In Tonga, there were Catholics, Methodists belonging to the Sydney conference, independent Methodists forming a national Church, some

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...

Adventists Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...

and

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into sever ...

. The total population was 34,000, with 9200 Catholics. In the early 20th century, there were 35 Catholic churches; 21 European and 1 native Marist priests, and 3 native secular priests; 28 schools with 2039 children; 2 colleges; 1 seminary. The establishments for girls were under the care of 52 Sisters of the Third Order of Mary. The boys' schools were conducted by native lay teachers; the colleges and the seminary by priests. The islands were divided into districts, with resident missionaries assembling every month for an ecclesiastical conference. There were annual retreats for the priests, for the sisters and for the catechists, besides general retreats for the faithful about every two years. In each village there was a

sodality In Christian theology, a sodality, also known as a syndiakonia, is a form of the "Universal Church" expressed in specialized, task-oriented form as opposed to the Christian church in its local, diocesan form (which is termed ''modality''). In Eng ...

of men (Kan Apositolo) and another of women (Fakafeao). The yearly number of baptisms averaged 310; of marriages, 105. The vicariate has given to the Church the proto-martyr of Oceania, Blessed P. Chanel.

Legacy

After having lost more territory to establish the

Apostolic Vicariate of Wallis and Futuna Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

on 1935.11.11, by now being reduced to a tiny part of its original expanse, it was on 13 April renamed as

Apostolic Vicariate of Tonga Islands Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

, on 22 March 1957 again renamed as

Apostolic Vicariate of Tonga Islands and Niue Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

, which would on 21 June 1966 be promoted as

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga The Diocese of Tonga (Latin: ''Dioecesis Tongana'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Tonga. It was erected as part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania in 1842, had subsequent name change ...

, yet remains exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See.

List of incumbent ordinaries

All were

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 a ...

s and members of the same missionary congregation, the

Marists The Society of Mary ( la, Societas Mariae) abbreviated SM, commonly known as the Marist Fathers, is a men's Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right. It was founded by Jean-Claude Colin and a group of seminarians in ...

(S.M.) ; Vicars Apostolic of Central Oceania *

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 t ...

, S.M. (1842.11.22 – 1863) * Aloys Elloy, S.M. (1872 – 1878.11.22) *

Jean-Amand Lamaze Jean-Amand Lamaze (1833 - 9 September 1906) 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 the Catholic Chu ...

, S.M. (1879.05.09 – 1906.09.09) * Armand Olier, S.M. (1906.09.09 – 1911.09.17) * , S.M. (1912.02.17 – 1937.04.13), ''who went on as first Apostolic Vicar of Tonga Islands (1937.04.13 – 1952)

Sources and External Links

*

GigaCatholic with incumbent ordinaries list and biography links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Central Oceania, Apostolic Vicariate Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Oceania Apostolic vicariates Christian missions Religious organizations established in 1842