The Diocese of Tonga (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Dioecesis Tongana'') is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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 the

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 ...

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 ...

. It was erected as part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania in 1842, had subsequent name changes in 1937 and 1957 before being elevated to the Diocese of Tonga on June 21, 1966. Its cathedra is found in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( Tongan: ''Malia Tupu 'Imākulata'') in the capital Nuku'alofa. It is immediately exempt to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and not part of an

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

. On 4 January 2015,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

announced that he would make Tonga's bishop, Soane Patita Paini Mafi, a cardinal on 14 February of that year.

History

Along with the rest of the country, in the early Twenty-First Century the tiny Catholic community of some 15,000 has been considered threatened with the loss of its home due to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

Bishops

Ordinaries

* Pierre Bataillon, S. M. (1842–1863) * Aloys Elloy, S. M. (1872–1878) * Jean-Amand Lamaze, S. M. (1879–1906) * Armand Olier, S. M. (1906–1911) * Joseph-Félix Blanc, S. M. (1912–1952) * John Hubert Macey Rodgers, S.M. (1953–1972), appointed Titular Bishop of Caput Cilla * Patelisio Punou-Ki-Hihifo Finau, S. M. (1972–1993) * Soane Lilo Foliaki, S. M. (1994–2008) * Soane Patita Paini Mafi (2008– ), elevated to Cardinal in 2015

Coadjutor bishops

*, S.M. (1842-1847), as Coadjutor vicar apostolic; did not succeed to see; appointed Vicar Apostolic of Melanesia (in fact Nouvelle-Calédonie, New Caledonia), Pacific (Oceania) * Aloys Elloy, S.M. (1863-1877), as Coadjutor vicar apostolic * Armand Olier, S.M. (1903-1906), as Coadjutor vicar apostolic * Patelisio Punou-Ki-Hihifo Finau, S.M. (1971-1972) * Soane Patita Paini Mafi (2007-2008); future Cardinal

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was designed by

Marek Sobola Marek Sobola (born 3 July 1981) is an authorised landscape architect, professional gardener and heraldic artist from Slovakia. Biography Sobola was born in Žilina, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) into a family from Lalinok and Divina. He spe ...

, a heraldic artist from

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...

(

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

), who also made the diocesan seal and flag. These are based on the Tonga flag and a

Fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

, symbol of the Immaculate Conception in Christian iconography. The coat of arms was adopted officially on September 21, 2017.

History

Bishops

Ordinaries

Coadjutor bishops

Coat of arms

References

External links

See also