About Papua, New Guinea:
Located in the southwest Pacific, New Guinea is the second largest island in the world (Greenland being the largest). The island’s name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the African region of Guinea. Papua, New Guinea includes the eastern half of New Guinea and many small offshore islands. Indonesia is to the west, Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the south-east.
Papua, New Guinea became a British protectorate, called British New Guinea, and was annexed outright on 4 September 1888 and possession passed to the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia in 1902, at which time British New Guinea became the Australian Territory of Papua, with Australian administration beginning in 1906.
In 2020, the population was estimated at 9.9 million, although those figures may not be totally reliable. The country has a large Christian population…both Catholic and protestant. As of 2024, Papua New Guinea had approximately two million Catholics, approximately 27% of the country’s total population. Estimates of the Muslim population were around 10.000.
In January, 2024 riots erupted in Papua New Guinea’s capital and quickly spread to other cities across the country. The riots were over concerns that the government was failing to meet public needs. The country has had high rates of inter-communal, domestic and gender-based violence.
Catholic history of Papua, New Guinea:
The first Catholic mass was celebrated on the Louisiade Islands, probably Sideia Island, by the chaplain to Torres’s expedition in 1606. Later, in 1845, Italian missionary Fr Giovanni Battista Mazzucconi was martyred on Woodlark Island in Milne Bay Province. In the 1890’s, German missionaries of the Society of the Divine Word founded missions on the Sepik River and northern coastal areas.
The Prefecture Apostolic of Kaiserwilhelmsland comprised some twelve mission stations along the northern coast. Bishop Louis Couppé had success in East New Britain and acted against the indigenous slave trade.
Five male missionaries and five nuns were massacred in the Baining region of New Britain in 1904, leading to reprisals by the German colonial authorities.
Many Rabaul Chinese were Catholic. St Theresa’s Yang Ching School was founded there in 1924.
A Marist mission on Bougainville, beginning in 1901, was very successful and the majority of the population became Catholic. Bishop Thomas Wade secured strong support for the mission from Australia and the United States.
World War II brought further persecution…The Japanese occupation caused major disruption, including the presumed execution of three Australian Marist Brothers by the Japanese. Many other local Catholics and missionaries suffered death, torture and imprisonment at the hands of the Japanese. There was a notable war crime when, in 1943, 45 missionaries were strung up and hanged on the Japanese destroyer Akikaze. The Catholic mission and cathedral at Alexishafen near Madang were destroyed by American bombing in 1943, but the mission was rebuilt after the War.
Expansion of the Catholic education system was rapid after the War, with schools constructed in Chabai and Kieta.
In 1967 the Australian opthalmologist, Fr Frank Flynn, was appointed as Administrator of the Cathedral and Director of Catholic Health Services in Papua New Guinea. His efforts led to the foundation of a Medical Faculty at the University of Papua New Guinea. Nuns, especially those of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, were very active in providing local health services. The mission hospitals developed into Catholic Church Health Services, which in 2016 ran five rural hospitals and 244 health facilities.
Papua, New Guinea gained its independence from Australia in 1975. In 2020, the population was estimated at 9.9 million, although those figures may not be totally reliable.
Visits of Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis to Papua, New Guinea:
Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea in 1984 and 1995. On his visit in 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified Peter To Rot, a catechist and New Guinea native from New Britain blessed for his martyrdom when, in 1945, he refused to embrace polygamy and was killed by occupying Japanese forces.
Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Papua, New Guinea September 6-9, 2024.
Catholic places of interest in Papua New Guinea:
Port Moresby (Capitol of Papua, New Guinea):