The Catholic Church in Nauru is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, which, inspired by the life, death and teachings of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, and under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and Roman curia in the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

(within Rome) is the largest Christian church in the world. The bishopric for the island is vacant in 2023, after the death of Koru Tito.

Demographics

The South Pacific island republic of Nauru has an area of approximately and a population of around 9,800.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

is the largest religion.US State Dept 2022 report
/ref> According to the CIA World Factbook, Catholicism is narrowly the second largest Christian denomination in Nauru after Nauru Congregational Church, who made up 36% of the overall population at the time of the 2011 Census, with Catholics accounting for 33%.

History

Nauru was first inhabited by Polynesians and

Melanesians Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in a wide area from Indonesia's New Guinea to as far East as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Most speak either one of the many languages of the Austronesian language f ...

. Contact with European whalers began in the late 18th century. Prior to the arrival of

, the inhabitants of Nauru adhered to an indigenous religion which believed in the primordial establishment of the island by two spirits who had come from

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. The German government annexed the island in 1888.

arrived in Nauru at the end of the 19th century, and began to impact Nauruan culture, brought by both a Catholic missionary and a Congregational minister. These two denominations remain the dominant religious affiliations on the island. The

established the Vicariate Apostolic of Gilbert Islands in 1897. A German colony until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Nauru was thereafter jointly administered by Australia,

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

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

before being briefly occupied by Japan during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1968, Nauru adopted its Constitution, which provided for

Freedom of Religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freed ...

, and became one of the world's smallest independent, democratic states.United States Department of State 2007 report
/ref> Timothy Detudamo translated the Bible into the Nauruan language in the 1930s. In 1966, the Vicariate was elevated to become the

Diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of Tarawa. In 1978, the name changed to Diocese of Tarawa, Nauru and Funafuti. This was split in 1982 into the Mission "Sui Iuris" of Funafuti and the Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru. Bishop Paul Mea, M.S.C. was ordained Bishop of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Nauru and

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

in 1979. He was succeeded in 2020 by Koru Tito; in 2023, the bishopric is vacant. The Christian festivals of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

are official religious holidays in Nauru. The Catholic Church remains active in education and mission work. In 2020, there were 4 priests and 3 nuns serving one parish. Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Church in Nauru Nauru

Demographics

History

See also

References