Roman Catholic Diocese of Tonga

The Diocese of Tonga (Latin: Dioecesis Tongana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Tonga. It was erected as part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania in 1842, had subsequent name changes in 1937 and 1957 before being elevated to the Diocese of Tonga on June 21, 1966.[1] Its cathedra is found in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Tongan: Malia Tupu 'Imākulata) in the capital Nuku'alofa. It is immediately exempt to the Holy See and not part of an ecclesiastical province.

Diocese of Tonga

Dioecesis Tongana
Coat of arms of the diocese
Location
CountryTonga
TerritoryTonga and Niue
Ecclesiastical provinceImmediately exempt to the Holy See
Statistics
Area947 km2 (366 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2011)
104,660
17,000 (7.6%)
Parishes14
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established12 June 1966
CathedralSt. Mary's Cathedral (Tongan: Malia Tupu Imakulata)
Patron saintThe Immaculate Conception
Secular priests38
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopSoane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Paola Romana
Bishops emeritusSoane Lilo Foliaki, S.M.
Map

On 4 January 2015, Pope Francis announced that he would make Tonga's bishop, Soane Patita Paini Mafi, a cardinal on 14 February of that year.[2][3]

History

edit

Along with the rest of the country, in the early Twenty-First Century the tiny Catholic community of some 15,000 has been considered threatened with the loss of its home due to climate change.[4]

Bishops

edit

Ordinaries

edit

Coadjutor bishops

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Cheney, David M. "Tonga (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  2. ^ "Annuncio di Concistoro per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  3. ^ Matangi, Tonga online (2015-02-16). "Tongans celebrate first Cardinal". Matangi Tonga. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  4. ^ "Pope appoints 20 new cardinals". BBC News. 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
edit

"Diocese of Tonga". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2015-08-01.

See also

edit

List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Oceania

21°08′S 175°12′W / 21.133°S 175.200°W / -21.133; -175.200