Metropolitan see Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
Archdiocese of Rabaul
Rabaulen(sis)
Latin Church
The Archdiocese of Rabaul is a Latin rite metropolitan see covering East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, with the Dioceses of Bougainville, Kavieng and Kimbe as suffragans. Erected in 1890 as the Vicariate Apostolic of New Pomerania from the Vicariate of Melanesia, it became a metropolitan archdiocese on 15 November 1966. Its seat is Sacred Heart Cathedral in Vunapope, with St. Francis Xavier Co-Cathedral in Rabaul.
On the map
Every see on one map: browse the dioceses. Churches with recorded hours: find Mass times.
- Established
- 1890
- Catholics
- 191,400
- Priests
- 73
- Territory
- 19,320 km²
Parishes and churches
2 listed churches in our records. Open a parish for Mass times, confession, directions and sources where recorded.
- Sacred Heart CathedralVunapope · CathedralView parish
- St Francis Xavier’s Co-CathedralRabaul · CathedralView parish
This is our recorded coverage, not an official diocesan parish count. Confirm service times with the parish before travelling.
The bishop
- Archbishop
- Rochus Josef Tatamai, M.S.C.
Explore the ministry of the bishop.
The cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Vunapope stands in Rabaul, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
Its co-cathedral is St. Francis Xavier Co-Cathedral, Rabaul.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
History
A Latin Catholic metropolitan archdiocese in Papua New Guinea, the Archdiocese of Rabaul divides its episcopal see between Sacred Heart Cathedral in Vunapope and Saint Francis Xavier Co-Cathedral in Rabaul. Rochus Josef Tatamai, M.S.C., appointed by Pope Francis on June 19, 2020, is the current Archbishop of Rabaul.