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 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

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 ...

(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), Bishop Pompallier being appointed Apostolic Vicar of Western Oceania. In 1842, Propaganda Fide created the

Apostolic Vicariate of Central Oceania The Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania was a Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction in the Southern Pacific. History The whole of Oceania had at first been entrusted by the Roman Congregation for the missions, Propaganda Fide, to the Congrega ...

, comprising the colonial island states of New Caledonia,

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 ...

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 Islands. By a further subdivision, the vicariate included only the Tonga Islands, the Wallis Island, Futuna and

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

. 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 Island 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 A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

, Wallis and Futuna under French. Freedom of worship was theoretically recognised everywhere except in Niue, which is exclusively Protestant. 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 and Mormons.

Statistics

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

ecclesiastical conference An Ecclesiastical conference is a meetings of Roman Catholic clerics for the purpose of discussing, in general, matters pertaining to their state of life in particular, questions of moral theology and liturgy. They were prescribed in England by the ...

. In each village there was a sodality of men (''Kan Apositolo'') and another of women (''Fakafeao''). The yearly number of baptisms averaged 310; of marriages, 105.

Martyr

The vicariate has given to the Church the proto-martyr of Oceania,

Saint Peter Chanel Peter Chanel (12 July 1803 – 28 April 1841), born Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, was a Catholic Priesthood (Catholic Church), priest, missionary, and martyr. Chanel was a member of the Marists, Society of Mary or "Marists" and was sent as a missio ...

Apostolic Vicars

Bishop Bataillon was the first vicar Apostolic, succeeded by Bishop Lamaze, after whose death (1906) succeeded (1910) his coadjutor, Bishop Amand Olier, S.M., as vicar Apostolic. Bishop Etienne Jerome Rouchouze

Sources

Sources and external links