Diocese of Tonga
Tongan(us)
Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See · Latin Church · Tonga, Tonga
Latin Church diocese covering the Kingdom of Tonga, with roots in the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania (1842) and elevated to the Diocese of Tonga on 21 June 1966. It is immediately subject to the Holy See; the seat is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Nuku'alofa.
The see
- Rank
- Diocese immediately subject to the Holy See
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 21 June 1966
- Latin
- Tongan(us)
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception
- Annuario code
- 001003250
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 17,000
- Population
- 104,660
- Catholic share
- 16.2%
- Priests
- 38
- Catholics per priest
- 447
- Extent
- 947 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 18
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
- Soane Patita Paini Mafi
- Born
- 19 December 1961
- Birthplace
- Nuku'alofa
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
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Nuku'alofa stands in Tonga, 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.
History
Catholic life in Tonga is organized as the Diocese of Tonga (Latin: Dioecesis Tongana), a Latin Church diocese whose origins lie in the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Oceania, erected in 1842. After name changes in 1937 and 1957, it was elevated to the Diocese of Tonga on June 21, 1966. Its cathedra stands in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Tongan: Malia Tupu 'Imākulata) in the capital Nuku'alofa.
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].