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The Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (Latin : Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici) (CEPAC) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church that includes the bishops of several islands in Oceania. The CEPAC is a member of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO).
Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean.
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese. It comprises the United States dependency of Guam. The prelate is an archbishop whose cathedral is the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica.
An episcopal conference, often also called a bishops’ conference or conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to meet regularly, with its own legal structure and ecclesial leadership function, is the Swiss Bishops' Conference, which was founded in 1863. More than forty episcopal conferences existed before the Second Vatican Council. Their status was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and further defined by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio, Ecclesiae sanctae.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia consists of the Independent State of Samoa.
The Catholic Church in Fiji is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the canonical authority and spiritual leadership of the Pope of Rome.
In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a mission sui iuris, also known as an independent mission, can be defined as: "an ecclesial structure erected from a previous territory, with explicit boundaries, under the care of a religious community or other diocese, responding to a missionary exigency and headed by a superior nominated by the Holy See, under the aegis of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples."
The Vicariate Apostolic of Eastern Oceania was a Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction for some of the South Sea (Pacific) islands from 1833 till 1848.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wallis et Futuna in Wallis and Futuna is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nouméa. It was erected as a Vicariate Apostolic in 1935 and elevated to a diocese in 1966. The Bishop of Wallis et Futuna is a member of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.
The Mission Sui Iuris of Funafuti is a Catholic Latin mission sui juris in Tuvalu, Polynesia.
The Roman Catholic Mission Sui Iuris of Tokelau in Tokelau is a suffragan mission of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia. It was formed in 1992 when the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia and Tokelau was split into the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia and the Mission Sui Iuris of Tokelau. The position of Ecclesiastical Superior is currently vacant following the death of Archbishop Alapati Lui Mata’eliga on 25 April 2023.
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to Oceania.
The Catholic Church in Wallis and Futuna is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, which, inspired by the life, death and teachings of Jesus Christ, and under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Roman curia in the Vatican City is the largest Christian church in the world. The French who were the first Europeans to settle in the territory, with the arrival of missionaries in 1837, who converted the population to Catholicism. Today, the population of the Pacific island French territory is overwhelmingly Catholic. Bishop Ghislain Marie Raoul Suzanne de Rasilly, S.M., was ordained Bishop of Wallis et Futuna in 2005.
The Oceania Table Tennis Federation (OTTF) is a table tennis organization founded on 1 June 1977, recognized by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) as its continental federation in Oceania. Discussions began at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships held in Melbourne, 1975. Seven foundation members were New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia and Tahiti.
The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Pago Pago in American Samoa from 11 to 22 August 1997. It was the fifth edition of the South Pacific Mini Games. It was much larger than previous editions, with an almost doubling of the number of medals awarded compared to the 1993 South Pacific Mini Games. The impressive performances by Nauru in weightlifting continued in Pago Pago, with the tiny nation finishing on top of the unofficial medal table after winning 33 gold.
Soakimi Gatafahefa, also known as simply Soakimi Gata, a Polynesian transliteration of Joachim Gata, was the first Roman Catholic priest from Polynesia. He worked in several Oceanic countries including Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and later Australia and New Zealand.
Susitino Sionepoe, S.M. is a Futunan Catholic prelate and the current Bishop of Wallis et Futuna. He was consecrated on March 24, 2019, by Archbishop Michel-Marie-Bernard Calvet in Mata'Utu, the Capital of Wallis and Futuna. His appointment as bishop was the result of the resignation of the previous bishop on 24 December 2018. He is a member of the Marists.