TheCatholic Church in Nauru is part of the worldwideCatholic Church, which, inspired by the life, death and teachings ofJesus Christ, and under the spiritual leadership of thePope andRoman curia in theVatican City (within Rome) is the largestChristian church in the world.
The bishopric for the island is vacant in 2023,[1][2] after the death ofKoru Tito.
The South Pacific island republic ofNauru has an area of approximately 8 square miles (21 km2) and a population of around 9,800.Christianity is the largest religion.[3] According to theCIA World Factbook, Catholicism is narrowly the second largestChristian denomination in Nauru afterNauru Congregational Church, who made up 36% of the overall population at the time of the 2011 Census, with Catholics accounting for 33%.[4]
Nauru was first inhabited byPolynesians andMelanesians. Contact with European whalers began in the late 18th century.[5] Prior to the arrival ofChristianity, the inhabitants of Nauru adhered to an indigenous religion which believed in the primordial establishment of the island by two spirits who had come fromKiribati. The German government annexed the island in 1888.[6]Christianity arrived in Nauru at the end of the 19th century, and began to impact Nauruan culture, brought by both a Catholic missionary and a Congregational minister. These two denominations remain the dominant religious affiliations on the island.[7][5]
TheCatholic Church established theVicariate Apostolic of Gilbert Islands {Isole Gilbert} in 1897. A German colony untilWorld War I, Nauru was thereafter jointly administered byAustralia,New Zealand andGreat Britain before being briefly occupied byJapan duringWorld War II.[5] In 1968, Nauru adopted its Constitution, which provided forFreedom of Religion, and became one of the world's smallest independent, democratic states.[8]
Timothy Detudamo translated the Bible into the Nauruan language in the 1930s.[9] In 1966, the Vicariate was elevated to become theDiocese of Tarawa. In 1978, the name changed to Diocese of Tarawa, Nauru and Funafuti. This was split in 1982 into theMission "Sui Iuris" of Funafuti and theDiocese of Tarawa and Nauru.[10] BishopPaul Mea, M.S.C. was ordained Bishop ofTarawa,Nauru andFunafuti,Kiribati in 1979.[11] He was succeeded in 2020 by Koru Tito; in 2023, the bishopric is vacant.
The Christian festivals ofChristmas andEaster are official religious holidays in Nauru.[8] The Catholic Church remains active in education and mission work.[12] In 2020, there were 4 priests and 3 nuns serving one parish.[13]
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