NEW CALEDONIA, Apostolic Vicariate of. - It comprises the island of the same name between Australia and the New Hebrides and the islands: La Grande Terre, of Pines, Loyauté or Mare, Lifou, Ouvéa, the Belep. It is entrusted to the religious of the Society of Mary.

In New Caledonia, Msgr. G. Douarre, a Marist, landed in 1843 with some missionaries, but the hostility of the natives, which culminated in the killing of Brother B. Mormoiton (20 July 1847), forced them to take refuge in Sydney and then in 1848 on the island of Annatom (New Hebrides). Having returned in 1851, they were able to begin missionary activity, hindered, however, by the French authorities, who invited the Protestants to found their missions there. The vicariate was erected on 23 July 1847, detaching its territory from the apostolic vicariate of Central Oceania. The cathedral of Noumea, consecrated in 1894, is one of the finest monuments of Oceania.

The surface area of the islands is about 18,000 sq km, with about 60,000 inhabitants, of whom 15,190 are native Catholics, 18,000 Europeans; 1,300 Asians; about 15,990 Protestants; 8,800 pagans and Muslims. Districts 10, quasi-parishes 30; missionaries 47, brothers 48, sisters 189. Churches 20, chapels 108. Elementary schools 50. Two bulletins are published there.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: GM, pp. 348-49; V. Courant, Blaise Mormoiton, Lyons-Paris 1931; anon., Progrès religieux en Nouvelle-Calédonie, in Annales de Marie, 8 (1937), pp. 547-54; L. De Rouvray, Un homme de cran, Guillaume Douarre, premier évêque missionnaire de la Nouvelle Calédonie, Paris 1946.

Saverio Paventi

@incollection{ec8_nuova_caledonia_vicariato_apos, author = {Paventi, Saverio}, title = {Nuova Caledonia, vicariato apostolico della}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {2028}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/nuova-caledonia-vicariato-apostolico-della} }

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New Caledonia, Apostolic Vicariate of

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