Diocese of Rarotonga
Rarotongan(us)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Latin-rite diocese covering the Cook Islands and Niue, erected as the Prefecture Apostolic of Cook and Manihiki in 1922, elevated to vicariate apostolic in 1948 and to the Diocese of Rarotonga on 21 June 1966. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Suva in Fiji and its seat is Saint Joseph's Cathedral in Avarua. Bishop Reynaldo Bunyi Getalado, M.S.P., has led the diocese since 2024.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 21 June 1966
- Latin
- Rarotongan(us)
- Patron
- Saint Joseph
- Annuario code
- 001002724
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 2,255
- Population
- 11,885
- Catholic share
- 19.0%
- Priests
- 9
- Catholics per priest
- 251
- Extent
- 234 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 9.6
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Reynaldo Bunyi Getalado, M.S.P.
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Saint Joseph's Cathedral, Avarua stands in Rarotonga, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Suva
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Suva.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of SuvaSuva
- Diocese of Tarawa and NauruTarawa and Nauru
- Mission Sui Iuris of FunafutiFunafuti
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
The Catholic presence in the Cook Islands is organized as the Diocese of Rarotonga (Latin: Dioecesis Rarotongana), a Latin Catholic suffragan of the Archdiocese of Suva in neighbouring Fiji. Its canonical history runs through three stages: erected as the Prefecture Apostolic of Cook and Manihiki in 1922, raised to the Vicariate Apostolic of Cook Islands in 1948, and made the Diocese of Rarotonga in 1966. Since 1972, when it was transferred from the Diocese of Tonga, Niue has also belonged to the diocese.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].