Jean-Baptiste Pompallier

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contemporary depiction of Pompalliers
Pompallier's portrait in a stained glass window in the Church of Lapaha in Tonga
Pompallier House

Jean-Baptiste-François Pompallier (born December 11, 1802 in Lyon , † December 21, 1871 ) was the first Roman Catholic bishop in New Zealand . With priests and brothers of the Marist Fathers , he built the Roman Catholic Church in New Zealand . Pompallier arrived in New Zealand in 1838 as Vicar Apostolic for Western Oceania. His main focus was on New Zealand. In 1848 he became the first bishop of Auckland .

Appointment and trip to New Zealand

On Trinity 1835 Pope Gregory XVI created the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania . The priests chosen to build it belonged to the Marist Order newly founded by Jean-Claude Colin in Lyon . On April 29, 1836, the Pope officially approved the Marist Order and assigned him the mission in Western Oceania. Pompallier, who was not a Marist himself, but was closely associated with them, was appointed Vicar Apostolic on May 13, 1836 and ordained titular bishop of Maronea .

On December 21, 1836 Pompallier left with two priests, a Marist brother and two Marist school brothers from Marcellin Champagnat on the Dolphins of Le Havre .

The first shore leave took place in Valparaíso, Chile . Brother Claude Bret died on this part of the journey. On August 10, 1837, the remaining four travelers embarked on the Europa for Tahiti . The Europa stopped on the island of Gambier ( Mangareva ) belonging to Tahiti and Pompallier met with Bishop Étienne Rouchouze (1798–1843), Vicar Apostolic for Eastern Oceania.

On October 5, 1837, he left the island on board the schooner Raiatea for Tahiti. There they were refused to land. The priest and later bishop Pierre Bataillon (1810–1877) and brother Joseph-Xavier began missionary work on November 1st on Uvea . The priest Peter Chanel and brother Marie-Nizier started a mission on Futuna . Pompallier himself traveled to Rotuma , but there was no one left to leave there. After arriving in Sydney in what was then the British colony of New South Wales , he learned a lot from Archbishop Bede Polding about proselytizing New Zealand.

New Zealand

On December 30th Pompallier traveled with the Marist priest Louis Catherin Servant and brother Michel (Antoine) Colombon towards Hokianga and arrived on January 10th of the following year at the house of the Catholic settler family Poynton. Pompallier celebrated his first mass in New Zealand on January 13, 1838 at Totara Point. He immediately began to set up Catholic mission stations. In 1843 he had missions in Hokianga, Kororareka , Mangakahia , Kaipara , Tauranga , Akaroa , Matamata , Opotiki , Maketu , Auckland , Otago , Wellington , Otaki , Rotorua , Rangiaowhia and Whakatāne .

The mission station in what was then Kororareka comprised the area around the now listed Pompallier House in Russell . A printing press was imported and Pompallier, along with other Catholic missionaries, supported the printing of prayer books in the Māori language . These are among the first publications in this language. A tannery was built to produce leather for the covers of books and notebooks.

On June 18, 1838, more Marists arrived on the Reine de Paix : the priests Baty, Epalle and Petit and the brothers Elie Regis, Augustin and Florentin. On December 8th the priests Viard (later bishop), Petit-Jean, Comte and Chevron and brother Brother Attale arrived.

Pompallier was present in Waitangi on February 5th and the morning of February 6th, 1840 . Later on February 6th, the Waitangi Treaty was signed there. Pompallier campaigned for guaranteed religious freedom. William Colenso wrote that missionary Henry Williams said to those present: "The governor says that the various faiths of England, those of the Wesleyans, the Romans and also the customs of the Maori are equally protected by him." Pompallier was concerned that the treaty would complicate his mission and advised some Catholic chiefs not to sign the treaty. After a commitment of religious freedom was obtained, Pompallier left before signing.

A separate Apostolic Vicariate for New Zealand was established in 1842 and Pompallier was its director. In 1846 he traveled to Rome to report on his missionary work.

Conflicts arose between Pompallier and the founder and head of the Marist Order, Jean-Claude Colin. Colin believed that as in France, the Marists in New Zealand were fully subordinate to him and that he could therefore make visits and request reports on the status of missionary activity. Pompallier, on the other hand, said that the only task of the superior was to take care of the condition of the souls of the missionaries. Colin couldn't accept that the Marists would in fact no longer be treated as such once they reached New Zealand. Pompallier, however, complained from his point of view of constant attempts to interfere in the missionary life from Lyon and believed that Colin was preventing the inflow of funds from France.

The conflict was resolved in 1848 when the Vicariate was divided into the dioceses of Auckland (northern half of the North Island) and Wellington (rest of New Zealand). Pompallier became the Catholic Bishop of Auckland and the Marist Philippe Viard became the Apostolic Administrator of Wellington. The Marists accompanied Viard to his new diocese. On April 8, 1850 Pompallier returned from Europe with two priests, ten seminarians and eight Irish Sisters of Mercy . He founded St Mary’s Seminary to train seminarians. The seminar lasted 19 years until Pompallier's resignation and departure back to France.

In 1851 Pompallier became a British subject. On December 30, 1860, he returned from Europe with eight Franciscans , eight seminarians and four French women who intended to found a new order (the Sisters of the Holy Family ). Suzanne Aubert belonged to this group .

On March 9, 1852, Priests James and Walter McDonald from Ireland arrived in Auckland. They became his faithful representatives and good friends. They supported Pompallier in the administration of the diocese and missionary work among the Māori.

death

Pompallier returned to France in 1868, old and sick. From April 19, 1869 to December 21, 1871 he was titular archbishop of Amasea. He died on December 21, 1871 at the age of 69 in Puteaux near Paris . His successor as Bishop of Auckland in 1870 was Thomas Croke .

On February 9, 2001, his remains were exhumed in France. Pompallier's bones were accompanied on a pilgrimage-like train throughout the day as they were brought from Otago to the Hokianga . She was reburied under the altar of St. Mary's Church in Motuti .

Pompallier as namesake

One of the educational institutions that bear his name is the Pompallier Catholic College in Whangarei (1969). Pompallier Houses are at Sacred Heart College in Auckland (1903), St. Bernard's College in Lower Hutt (1947), Carmel College in (1957), St. John's College in Hamilton (1961), St. Peter's College in Gore (1969 ), Liston College in Auckland (1974) and several elementary and secondary schools in the country. The Sancta Maria College in Auckland (2004) commemorates his work in the form of the schooner Sancta Maria .

The road Pompallier Terrace in suburban Aucklanders Ponsonby is named after him.

literature

  • L. Keys: The Life and Times of Bishop Pompallier. The Pegasus Press, Christchurch 1957.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Entry on Vicariate Apostolic of Western Oceania on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on November 1, 2019.
  2. ^ A b William Colenso : The Authentic and Genuine History of the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi . By Authority of George Didsbury, Government Printer, Wellington 1890 (accessed February 2, 2013).
  3. ^ A b Hugh Carleton: The Life of Henry Williams: "Early Recollections" written by Henry Williams ( en ), Volume II. Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library, 1874, pp. 11-15.
  4. ^ ER Simmons: A Brief History of the Catholic Church in New Zealand . Catholic Publications Center, Auckland, 1978, p. 42
  5. ^ Carmel College. February 1, 2015, accessed February 1, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Pompallier, Jean-Baptiste
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pompallier, Jean-Baptiste François (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION first Roman Catholic bishop in New Zealand
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH Lyon
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1871