Roman Catholic Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago

Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago Dioecesis Samoa–Pagopagensis
Location
Country	United States
Territory	American Samoa
Ecclesiastical province	Samoa-Apia
Statistics
Area	76 sq mi (200 km2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 68,000 14,000 (20.6%)
Parishes	16
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	September 10, 1982 (34 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Holy Family (Tafuna)
Co-cathedral	Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker (Fagatogo)
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Peter Brown
Emeritus Bishops	John Quinn Weitzel M.M.
Map

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago 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.^[1]

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,^[2] 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)

Suffragan Bishops of Samoa–Pago Pago

• Apostolic Administrator (1982.09.10 – 1986.06) Pio Taofinu’u, Marists (S.M.), while Cardinal-Priest of S. Onofrio (1973.03.05 – 2006.01.19), Ecclesiastical Superior of Mission Sui Iuris of Funafuti (Tuvalu) (1982.09.10 – 1985.09), Metropolitan Archbishop of Samoa–Apia and Tokelau (Samoa) (1982.09.10 – 1992.06.26)
• John Quinn Weitzel Maryknoll Fathers (M.M.) (1986.06.09 – retired 2013.05.31)
• Peter Brown, C.Ss.R. (2013.05.31 – ...)

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. ^[3]

Roman Catholic Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago

See also

References

Sources and External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago Official Site
• GCatholic, with incumbent bio links
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago

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Coordinates: 14°14′S 170°08′W / 14.24°S 170.14°W / -14.24; -170.14