The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rarotonga (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Dioecesis Rarotongana'') in the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

is a diocese of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. it is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Suva in neighbouring

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. It was erected as the

Prefecture Apostolic An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Cook and Manihiki in 1922, elevated to the

Vicariate Apostolic An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of Cook Islands in 1948 and elevated as the Diocese of Rarotonga in 1966.

Bishops

* Bernardin Castanié, C.I.M. (1923–1939) * John David Hubaldus Lehman, C.I.M. (1939–1959) * Hendrick Joseph Cornelius Maria de Cocq, SS.CC. (1964–1971) * John Hubert Macey Rodgers, S.M. (1973–1977) * Denis George Browne (1977–1983) * Robin Walsh Leamy, S.M. (1984–1996) * Stuart France O'Connell, S.M. (1996–2011) * Paul Donoghue, S.M. (2011–2024) * Reynaldo Getalado, M.S.P. (2024–present)

Education

Primary Schools Saint Josephs School, Rarotonga
Saint Mary's School, Mauke Island (now closed down) Secondary (High) School

Nukutere College Nukutere College is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. It is the country’s only Catholic secondary school and has an important educational role across the archipelago. "Nukutere" means "people on a jo ...

, Rarotonga

Churches

Catholic Cathedral of Rarotonga (and the Cook Islands) Saint Joseph's Cathedral is the only Catholic Cathedral in the Cook Islands. The Cathedral is located in

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national Capital city, capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA ...

. Three Catholic churches in Rarotonga also serve the local faithful: St Mary's in Arorangi Village, St Paul's in Titikaveka Village and Sacred Heart in Matavera village.

External links and references

* Catholic Church in the Cook Islands Catholic Church in Niue

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...

Rarotonga 1922 establishments in Oceania {{Oceania-RC-diocese-stub