The Catholic Church in Palau 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 ...

, 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 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. According to the last census (2000) 41.6% of the population belonged to the Catholic Church. Palau belongs to the

Diocese of Caroline Islands The Catholic Diocese of Caroline Islands ( la, Diœcesis Carolinensium) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Federated States of Micronesia and in the Republic of Palau. It is a suffragan diocese of the Ecclesia ...

, which is itself a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Agaña (Guam).

History

On April 28, 1891, Spanish Capuchin missionaries arrived to start a permanent Catholic presence on the island.

References

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

{{Palau-stub

History

See also

References