The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia (;
Samoan: ''Puleaga'' ''Fa'aAkiepikopo Samoa-Apia'') consists of
the Independent State of Samoa.
History
In 1842, the Propaganda Fide created the
Apostolic Vicariate of Central Oceania that included New Caledonia, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji Islands. This lost territory with establishment by
canonical erection by the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
on August 20, 1850, of the
Vicariate Apostolic of the Navigators' Archipelago, entrusted to the
Society of Mary (Marists)
The Society of Mary (), better known as the Marists, is a Catholic religious congregation of pontifical right. Founded in Cerdon, France, by Jean-Claude Colin, the Society of Mary was recognized by an apostolic brief on April 29, 1836, and is ...
. On January 4, 1957, the Vatican changed the name of the Vicariate Apostolic to Samoa and the Tokelau Islands.
The vicariate apostolic was elevated to the Diocese of Apia on June 21, 1966, and made suffragan to the metropolitan see of
Suva, Fiji
Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...
. On August 10, 1974, the name of the diocese was changed to Diocese of Apia o Samoa and Tokelau; and it was changed again on December 3, 1975, to the Diocese of Samoa and Tokelau.
On September 10, 1982, the diocese was elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese taking the name of the See city,
Apia
Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga.
The Apia Urban A ...
. Simultaneously, the
Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago was created from a portion of the former Diocese of Samoa Tokelau and made suffragan to the metropolitan see of Apia.
On 24 April 2023, Archbishop
Alapati Lui Mataeliga was airlifted to
Auckland Hospital, 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 died in the early hours of the following morning.
Ordinaries
*
Guillaume Marie Douarre S.M. (1850-1853)
*
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 ...
, S.M.(1853–1870)
*
Aloys Elloy, S.M. (1870–1878)
*
Jean-Armand Lamaze, S.M. (1879–1896)
* S. M. (1896–1918)
[Biography about Mgr Pierre-Jean Broyer in the article dedicated to his birthplace on the French Wikipedia. :fr:Illiat]
*
Joseph Darnand
Joseph Darnand (19 March 1897 – 10 October 1945) was a French far-right political figure, Nazi collaborator and convicted war criminal during the Second World War. A decorated veteran of the First World War and the Battle of France in 1940, h ...
S. M. (1919–1953)
* S. M. (1953–1955)
*
George Hamilton Pearce S. M. (1956–1967), appointed Archbishop of Suva, Fiji, Pacific (Oceania)
*
Pio Taofinu'u S. M. (1968–2002), elevated to Cardinal in 1973
*
Alapati Lui Mataeliga (2002–2023)
*
Mosese Vitolio Tui (2024-present)
Ecclesiastical province
:''See:
Ecclesiastical Province of Samoa-Apia.''
As the metropolitan see, the archdiocese has two suffragans: the
Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago and the
Mission ''Sui Iuris'' of Tokelau. Until March 2003, the
Mission ''Sui Iuris'' of Funafuti was also a suffragan, but since that date it is now a suffragan of the
Archdiocese of Suva.
See also
*
Catholic Church by country
The Catholic Church is "the Catholic Communion of Churches, both Roman and Eastern, or Oriental, that are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome (the pope)."Richard P. McBrien. ''The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism.'' (New York: Harper ...
*
Catholic Church in the United States
The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion, communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Pope Leo XIV, Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , t ...
*
Ecclesiastical Province of Samoa-Apia
*
Global organisation of the Catholic Church
*
List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
*
List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical)
This is a growing list of territorial dioceses and ordinariates in communion with the Holy See. There are approximately 3,000 actual (i.e., non-titular) dioceses in the Catholic Church (including the eparchies of the Eastern Catholic Churches). ...
(including archdioceses)
*
List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view)
As of June 21, 2024, the Catholic Church in its entirety comprises 3,172 ecclesiastical jurisdictions, including over 652 archdioceses and 2,249 dioceses, as well as apostolic vicariates, apostolic exarchates, apostolic administrations, apo ...
(including archdioceses)
*
List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
The Catholic Church, Catholic dioceses and archdioceses of the United States which include both the dioceses of the Latin Church, which employ the Roman Rite and other Latin liturgical rites, and various other dioceses, primarily the eparchie ...
References
Further reading
* ''Galuega O Le Sinoti'' (''Acts of the Snyod''
'of the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia'', December 7–14, 1990, promulgated, May 1, 1991, Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. Apia, Samoa.
External links
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia Official Site
Religious organizations established in 1850
Samoa-Apia
Samoa-Apia
Roman Catholic dioceses in Samoa
1850s establishments in Samoa
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