Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Catholic Church in Tonga 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 (within Rome) is the largest Christian church in the world. It is estimated that approximately 16% of the population of the Pacific island Kingdom are Catholic, being 15,767 in 2004. Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi succeeded as Bishop of Tonga in 2008. Prior to the arrival of European sailors and missionaries, the islands of Tonga practised an animistic Polynesian religion. Responsibility for Oceania was given by the Catholic Church to the Society of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1825; but the territory was judged to be too large, and the western portion was formed into a vicariate Apostolic and given to the Society of Mary in 1836, with Mgr Jean Baptiste Pompallier (1807–1871) appointed vicar Apostolic of Western Oceania.

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