CATHOLIC faithful in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville are celebrating the 125th Anniversary of the Dioceses of Bougainville with various church activities throughout the region.
On Pokpok island in Central Bougainville, where early missionaries set up a catholic station, a mass was celebrated to mark 125 years since the arrival of the Catholic Church.
The three weeks of celebrations will conclude with a jubilee mass in North Bougainville and the mass will be celebrated by His Eminence, Cardinal Luis Antonia Tagle.
Originally from Manila in the Philippines, Cardinal Tagle holds a Masters in Theology and had served as the Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020.
He now serves as the Cardinal Bishop of Albano in Italy and currently holds the position of Pro-Prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelization in the Vatican.
Cardinal Tagle arrived in Port Moresby last Friday. He is visiting Papua New Guinea and Bougainville as the Special Envoy of Pope Leo XIV and the Holy See.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomons Islands said Tangle’s presence is a great blessing from the Vatican and a sign of closeness to the people of Bougainville.
Cardinal Tagle has visited Papua New Guinea several times already. His latest visit was in 2024 when he accompanied Pope Francis in an historic visit to the country on the eve of PNG’s 50th Anniversary.
In this visit, cardinal Tagle will travel to Bougainville as part of the Diocese’s 125th anniversary of the establishment of Catholic Church in the region.
The Jubilee Mess in Buka will be celebrated at the Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral in Hahela. Cardinal Tagle’s visit to North Bougainville will include the blessing of a new diocesan building and visits to other parishes and hospital.
This year marks 125 years since the first Catholic mass was held in Buin, South Bougainville after the arrival of the German Marist priests in 1901. In August of 1901 the Catholic church on Pokpok island celebrated the first Catholic mass.
The Catholic Church continues to provide education and health services in the 31 parishes in Bougainville. During the Bougainville Crisis, much of the buildings and churches were destroyed and many missionaries were also killed.
After the crisis, the Catholic church continues to grow. It now provides counseling services apart from pastoral work.
Since the arrival of the Catholic Missionaries in Bougainville, the Catholic population published by the Catholic Bishop Conferences of PNG and Solomons states that there are 223,300 catholic faithful in the Bougainville Dioceses.
Cardinal Tagle returned to Port Moresby on 17th August and hosted another Jubilee Mass for the Bougainville community at the Mary Queen of the Pacific Parish at Waigani.
