Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia

Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia Archidioecesis Samoa–Apiana Puleaga Fa'aAkiepikopo Samoa–Apia
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Location
Country	Independent State of Samoa
Territory	Samoa
Ecclesiastical province	Samoa-Apia
Statistics
Area	2,922 km2 (1,128 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 189,000 42,500 (22.5%)
Parishes	38
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	20 August 1850 (174 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Alapati Lui Mataeliga
Map
Territory of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia (Latin: Archidioecesis Samoa–Apiana; 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 on August 20, 1850, of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Navigators' Archipelago, entrusted to the Society of Mary (Marists). 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. 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. 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.

Ordinaries

Monseigneur Pierre-Jean BROYER

• Pierre Bataillon S.M.(1842–1870)
• Aloys Elloy, S.M. (1870–1878)
• Jean-Armand Lamaze, S.M. (1879–1896)
• Pierre-Jean Broyer S. M. (1896–1918)
• Joseph Darnand S. M. (1919–1953)
• Jean Baptiste Dieter 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– )

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
• Catholic Church in the United States
• 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) (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

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