Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago

Diœcesis Samoa–Pagopagensis
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
Territory American Samoa
Ecclesiastical provinceSamoa-Apia
Statistics
Area76 sq mi (200 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2010)
68,000
14,000 (20.6%)
Parishes16
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established10 September 1982 (41 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of the Holy Family (Tafuna)
Co-cathedralCo-Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker (Fagatogo)
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopKolio Etuale
Metropolitan ArchbishopAlapati Lui Mataeliga
Bishops emeritus
Map

The Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago (Latin: Diœcesis Samoa–Pagopagensis) is a Latin Church suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States overseas dependency of American Samoa, in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa–Apia.[1]

The ordinary is a bishop whose seat is the Cathedral of the Holy Family in the Tafuna. He is also pastor of the co-cathedral of Saint Joseph the Worker in Fagatogo.

On Friday, May 31, 2013, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop John Quinn Weitzel M.M., and appointed the Rev. Peter Brown, C.Ss.R., the Regional Superior of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer also known as the Redemptorist Congregation in New Zealand as bishop-elect of the diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago. Brown was ordained as a bishop on August 22, 2013.

History

It was canonically erected on 10 September 1982,[2] from a unified diocese of Samoa and Tokelau, the bulk of which became its present Metropolitan.

It enjoyed a Papal visit from Pope Paul VI in November 1970.

Leadership

Apostolic administrator
Ordinaries

Coat of arms

The proposal of coat of arms was created by Marek Sobola, a heraldic specialist from Slovakia. The colors of the new coat of arms are derived from the national colors of American Samoa. The heraldic figures on the coat of arms include a bald eagle (the national symbol) and gold and silver lily - symbols of Pope Paul VI and John Paul II. These two popes contributed to the development of the diocese.[3]

References

14°14′S 170°08′W / 14.24°S 170.14°W / -14.24; -170.14 (RC Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago)

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