Michel Visi (24 October 1954 in Ningfire, Ambae,

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

– 19 May 2007 in Port Vila,

) was the

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. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Port-Vila. He also served as the head of Vanuatu's Vanuatu Christian Council, an important

interdenominational Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

organization. Visi was originally from the island of Ambae in the northern part of

. He was ordained as a Catholic priest on 15 December 1982 at the age of 28. He was appointed to be the Bishop of Vanuatu on 12 April 1997 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

to succeed bishop Francis Lambert. He was the first indigenous Vanuatuan to be appointed to this post. Visi was found dead in his bedroom in Port Vila on 19 May 2007. His funeral was held on 22 May at the Port Vila Roman Catholic Cathedral. His funeral was officiated by the Nouméa

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Michel-Marie-Bernard Calvet.

External links and references

References

1954 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Vanuatuan people 21st-century Vanuatuan people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Oceania 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Oceania Vanuatuan Roman Catholic bishops People from Penama Province Roman Catholic bishops of Port-Vila {{Vanuatu-bio-stub