New book sheds light on history of Catholic Church in Tonga

Catholic Church in Tonga – History, Missionaries, Timeline by Felise Tāvō was published earlier this month, and the book has been receiving acclaim on social media.

The early years of the Catholic Church in Tonga were documented in French, restricting the engagement of Tongan and English-speaking historians.

The new book, written in English, covers various aspects of the Church’s history in Tonga, including the establishment of what appeared to be the first high school in the kingdom, ‘Apifo’ou College, which was founded in 1865 by French Marist priests.

Commenters have said that some two centuries of previously unacknowledged history have finally been brought to light. French Marist missionaries first arrived in Tonga in 1836.

Tāvō told Kaniva News that there had been earlier research done on the history of the Catholic Church in Tonga, and that work had been done to translate the documents from the French language. But he had been unable to identify publications resulting from this previous work.

He added that further work remains to be done on diaries, letters and documents stored at the Church’s archive in Tonga.

This will lead to an even better “understanding and more corrections to our history”, said Tāvō, a former dux of ‘Apifo’ou College and former priest.

The book details some of the interactions between the Marist priests and King George Tupou I, who was regarded as the founder of modern Tonga.  Despite being a member of the Wesleyan Church, the King developed a close relationship with the Marist priests. He made frequent visits to the priests at Ma’ofanga, where he received various gifts from them. 

All proceeds from the book will go to ‘Apifo’ou College.

FULL STORY

Catholic Church in Tonga’s almost 200 years ‘much overlooked records’ written in French translated into English in new book   – Kaniva Tonga News (By Kalino Latu/Kaniva Tonga News)