Jean-Baptiste François Pompallier (11 December 1801 – 21 December 1871) was the first Roman Catholic bishop in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and, with priests and brothers of the
Marist order, he organised the Roman Catholic Church throughout the country. He was born in
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, France. He arrived in New Zealand in 1838 as
Vicar Apostolic
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of Western Oceania, but made New Zealand the centre of his operations.
In 1848, he became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. He returned to France in 1868 and died in
Puteaux
Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris.
La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the tallest buildings in the metropolitan ...
, near Paris, on 21 December 1871, aged 70. His exhumed remains were returned to New Zealand in 2001, and they were re-interred under the altar at St Mary's,
Motuti, in 2002. People can visit his remains.
Early life
Jean Baptiste François Pompallier was born in
Lyon, France
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, on 11 December 1801,
["Pompallier history"]
Pompallier Hokianga Trust. the son of Pierre and Françoise Pompallier. Pierre Pompallier died less than a year later. His mother then married Jean-Marie Solichon, a Lyon silk manufacturer. François received the education of a gentleman. For a time, he served as an officer of dragoons. In 1825 he entered the Lyons seminary, was ordained in 1829, and served for seven years in the archdiocese of Lyons, becoming closely acquainted with the
Society of Mary founded by
Jean-Claude Colin
Jean-Claude Colin, SM was a French priest (7 August 1790 – 15 November 1875) who became the founder of the Society of Mary (Marists).
Early life
Jean-Claude, born on 7 August 1790 at the hamlet of Barbery, in the Beaujolais region of central F ...
.
Appointment and voyage

On Trinity Sunday 1835,
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...
created the
Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania, splitting it from the territory entrusted 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 Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for priests and brothers. The congregation is also known as the Picpus because their first house w ...
as the area had proven too large. On 29 April 1836, he formally approved the "Priests of the Society of Mary" or Marist Fathers as a religious institute and assigned to it the mission of Western Oceania. Pompallier, who had been closely associated with the Marists, was named Vicar Apostolic, and consecrated
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 an ...
of Maronea on 30 June 1836.
[
On 24 December 1836, Pompallier sailed from ]Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
on the ''Delphine''. He was accompanied by five Marist missioners. Two of Marcellin Champagnat
Marcellin Joseph Benedict Champagnat, FMS (20 May 17896 June 1840) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic priest who founded of the Marist Brothers, a religious congregation of Religious brother, brothers devoted to Mary, mother of Jesu ...
's ''Petits Frères de Marie'' (Little Brothers of Mary), led by Peter Chanel. They arrived in early January at the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, where Father Claude Bret caught a fever and died at sea some two months later.[ They arrived at ]Valparaíso
Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...
on 28 June, where the "Picpus Fathers", who had care of the Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Oceania, had their base.
On 10 August 1837, Pompallier and the remaining priests and brothers embarked on the ''Europa''. ''Europa'' stopped at Mangareva
Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent p ...
in the Gambier Islands on 13 September where Pompallier met Bishop Rouchouze, Vicar Apostolic for Eastern Oceania. On 21 September they reached Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
.
They left Tahiti on 23 October on the schooner ''Raiatea'' to drop off Father Pierre Bataillon
Pierre Bataillon (born in 1810 in Saint-Cyr-les-Vignes) was a French clergyman and bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution ...
and Brother Joseph-Xavier at Wallis, the main seat of the mission in Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
. The missionaries arrived at Vava’u but rumours of an ambushed scared the men into hiding. A woman by the Kalisi Tuipulotu hid the men in her house until it was safe enough to continued their journey to Futuna, arriving on 8 November 1837. There Chanel, a French lay brother Marie-Nizier Delorme, and an English Protestant layman named Thomas Boag, who had been resident on the island and had joined them at Tonga seeking passage to Futuna, left the group.
Pompallier travelled to Rotuma
Rotuma () is a self-governing heptarchy, generally designated a Local government in Fiji, dependency of Fiji. Rotuma commonly refers to the Rotuma Island, the only permanently inhabited and by far the largest of all the islands in the Rotuma Gro ...
but was unable to leave anyone there. On arrival in Sydney in New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
he learned much about the New Zealand mission from Bishop John Polding
John Bede Polding OSB (18 November 179416 March 1877) was an English Benedictine monk and the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Early life
Polding was born in Liverpool, England, on 18 November 1794. His father was of Du ...
.
New Zealand
On 30 December Pompallier, Fr Louis Catherin Servant SM and Brother Michel (Antoine) Colombon sailed for the Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long Estuary, estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Mā ...
and arrived at the home of Thomas and Mary Poynton on 10 January 1838. It was to be his headquarters and the chief scene of his labour for the next 30 years.
Pompallier celebrated the first Traditional Latin Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
in New Zealand at Totara Point on 13 January 1838. He immediately set about establishing Catholic mission stations. He quickly learned both English and Māori. Bishop Pompallier travelled extensively by schooner around both North and South Islands, setting up mission stations.[ By 1843, he had established stations in Hokianga, Kororāreka, Mangakahia, Kaipara, ]Tauranga
Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...
, Akaroa
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Ngāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu Māori language, Māori for "Long Harbour", which woul ...
, Matamata
Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which take ...
, Ōpōtiki
Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...
, Maketu
Maketu is a small town on the Western Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand. It is located roughly from Paengaroa, from Te Puke, from Tauranga, from Rotorua and from Whakatane.
Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow, ...
, Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
, Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, Ōtaki, Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...
, Rangiaowhia
Rangiaowhia (or Rangiawhia, or Rangiaohia) was, for over 20 years, a thriving village on a ridge between two streams in the Waikato region, about east of Te Awamutu. From 1841 it was the site of a very productive Māori people, Māori Mission (s ...
and Whakatāne
Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...
.
The mission station in Kororareka encompassed the area surrounding what is now known as Pompallier House, Russell. A printing press was imported, and, with other Catholic missionaries, Pompallier sponsored the printing of prayer booklets in Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, some of the earliest Māori publications. A tannery was set up to produce leather with which the pamphlets and books were bound.
Marist reinforcements arrived on the ''Reine de Paix'' on 18 June 1839 (Fathers Baty, and Petit and Brothers Elie Regis, Augustin and Florentin). On 8 December, four more Marists arrived. They were Fathers Philippe Viard, Petit-Jean, Comte and Chevron and Brother Attale.
Pompallier was present at Waitangi on the day before and the morning of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
, which was held across the bay from Kororareka, on 6 February 1840. Pompallier pushed for a guaranteed freedom of religion. Fifty years later, in his 1890 publication about the Treaty, William Colenso
William Colenso (17 November 1811 – 10 February 1899) FRS was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician. He attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and later wrote an acco ...
recorded that Pompellier arrived dressed in full "canonicals" (ceremonial robes) and did not appear at ease. Nevertheless, mainly due to Pompellier's insistence on the matter of religious tolerance, Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to:
Politicians
* Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign
* Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), member of parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...
said to those present "E mea ana te Kawana, ko nga whakapono katoa, o Ingarani, o nga Weteriana, o Roma, me te ritenga Maori hoki, e tiakina ngatahitia e ia." ("The Governor says the several faiths eliefsof England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also the Maori custom, shall be alike protected by him."). Pompallier was worried the treaty would hamper his mission and Colenso overheard that he had advised some Catholic Maori chiefs not to sign the treaty. Having secured the statement of religious freedom he did not stay, he left the gathering after the discussion and before the parties signed.
In November 1841, Pompallier learned that Peter Chanel had been killed at Futuna the previous April. He and Viard went to retrieve the body and brought it back to Kororāreka, before eventually being returned to the Society of Mary in Lyon.
A separate Apostolic Vicariate of New Zealand was erected in 1842. Pompallier then became the Vicar Apostolic of New Zealand. In 1846, with Viard already appointed as his assistant bishop, Pompallier set off to Rome for his Ad limina visit.[
In 1842, Pompallier wrote the hymn Mō Maria, a hymn written and sung in ]Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
about Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
.
Conflict and resolution
The missionaries serving with Pompallier were Marists. Difficulties arose between Marist superior Jean-Claude Colin, in Lyon, and Bishop Pompallier over jurisdiction and finances. These problems were aggravated by the difficulty of long-distance communication. Colin wished to receive reports from the Marist missioners on the state of the mission. Pompallier accused him of constant interference from Lyon.
The matter was settled in 1848, while Pompallier was still in Rome. The vicariate was divided into the Dioceses of Auckland (covering the northern half of the North Island) and Wellington (the rest of New Zealand). Pompallier was appointed Bishop of Auckland, which was to be staffed by secular clergy. Philippe Viard became the Apostolic Administrator
An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
of Wellington, served by the Marists. On 8 April 1850 Pompallier returned from Europe with 2 priests, 10 seminarians and 8 Irish Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
. He established St Mary's Seminary to train the seminarians. He became a British subject in 1851. While in Europe, Pompallier traveled extensively raising funds and personnel for his diocese. He returned on 30 December 1860, he returned with 8 Franciscans, 8 seminarians, and 4 French women who were intended to start a new order, the Sisters of the Holy Family. The group included Suzanne Aubert. During his absence, the Auckland area had grown considerably with the establishment of four Fencibles
The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Fren ...
settlements.
Amid Pompallier's difficulties there was another consolation. On 9 March 1852, James and Walter McDonald arrived in Auckland from Ireland. James had been ordained in Dublin; Pompallier ordained Walter in Auckland. The brothers gave Pompallier great service. They became his loyal lieutenants and good friends and especially assisted Pompallier as diocesan administrators and in attending to the Māori mission.
Death
Through the 1850s, Pompallier was based in Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. A street (Pompallier Terrace) in the suburb of Ponsonby is named after him. Pompallier suffered from arthritis. In 1868, old and ill, he returned to France. He resigned on 23 March 1869 and was made honorary archbishop of Amasia. Pompallier died in Puteaux
Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris.
La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the tallest buildings in the metropolitan ...
, near Paris, on 21 December 1871, ten days after his 70th birthday.
On 9 January 2001, his remains were exhumed. A contingent of New Zealanders organised a pilgrimage trip in the style of a hīkoi, to return his remains to New Zealand. The ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...
of Pompallier's remains were accompanied 24 hours a day, as they travelled from Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
to Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long Estuary, estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Mā ...
, where they were re-interred under the altar at St Mary's, Motuti, on the Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long Estuary, estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Mā ...
Harbour, in 2002.
Memory
Educational institutions named in his honour include Pompallier Catholic College, Whangārei
Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...
(1969). There are Pompallier houses at Sacred Heart College, Auckland (1903), Our Lady of the Rosary School, Waiwhetu (1932), St. Bernard's College, Lower Hutt (1947), Carmel College, Auckland (1957), St John's College, Hamilton
St John's College is a state-integrated school, state-integrated Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand, Catholic boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand, with a school roll of as of . The school crest fea ...
(1961), St Peter's College, Gore (1969), Liston College, Auckland (1974), St Mary's Rotorua, Garin College, Nelson (2002) and other New Zealand secondary and primary schools, such as Pomallier primary, Kiatia. Sancta Maria College, Auckland (2004) commemorates Pompallier and his work through the name of his schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
, the ''Sancta Maria''.
See also
* Catholic Church in New Zealand
Notes
References
E. R. Simmons. ''Pompallier, Jean Baptiste François - Biography'', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1 September 2010
(retrieved 2 March 2011).
*Keys, L., ''The Life and Times of Bishop Pompallier'', The Pegasus Press, Christchurch, 1957.
External links
''Bishop Pompallier'', The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand website
(retrieved 2 March 2011).
(retrieved 12 February 2011)
"Journey across Aotearoa in the steps of Jean-Baptiste Pompallier", ''New Zealand Herald''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pompallier, Jean Baptiste
1802 births
1871 deaths
Roman Catholic bishops of Auckland
French Roman Catholic missionaries
Clergy from Lyon
Roman Catholic missionaries in New Zealand
19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand
French emigrants to New Zealand
Treaty of Waitangi