Territory American Samoa Denomination Roman Catholic Area 196.8 km² Bishop Peter Brown | Parishes 16 Rite Roman Rite Country United States of America | |
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Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2010)
68,000
14,000 (20.6%) Established September 10, 1982 (34 years ago) Cathedral Cathedral of the Holy Family (Tafuna) Ecclesiastical province Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia | ||
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago (Latin: Dioecesis Samoa–Pagopagensis) is a Latin 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.
Contents
The ordinary is a bishop who pastors the episcoapl see (mother church), 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 Redemptorist Fathers 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 September 10, 1982, taking territory from what once was a unified Diocese of Samoa and Tokelau, the remainder of which became its present Metropolitan.
It enjoyed a Papal visit from Pope Paul VI in November 1970.
Episcopal Ordinaries
(all Roman Rite)
Coat of arms
The proposal of coat of arms created Marek Sobola, a heraldic specialist from Slovakia. The colors of the new coat of arms are derived from the national colors of American Samoa. Heraldic figures of the coat of arms: Bald eagle - the national symbol, gold and silver lily - symbols of Pope Paul VI and John Paul II. These two popes contributed to the development of the diocese.