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First Pacific Islander Installed Archbishop Of Nouméa, Wallis-and-Futuna, And Vanuatu
Patrick Decloitre, Correspondent French Pacific Desk
17 April 2025
Monsignor Susitino Sionepoe, 60, from Wallis-and Futuna, was officially installed on Saturday as the new Archbishop of Nouméa, Wallis-and-Futuna, and Vanuatu.
He is the first Pacific Islander to access this key position, which had been held by 81-year-old Monsignor Michel-Marie Calvet since 1981.
Monsignor Sionepoe's inaugural mass was held in the Saint Joseph Cathedral of Nouméa, in presence of thousands of Catholics, some of them coming from as far as New Zealand, where Wellington-based Mgr Gábor Pinter, the Nuncio of the Vatican, is based for the whole region.
Eleven bishops from the region, including Guam, Papeete, Port Vila, Kiribati and Wallis-et-Futuna, were also in attendance.
Officials from New Caledonia also included French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, Senator Georges Naturel, Congress President Veylma Falaeo, Southern Province President Sonia Backès, the mayors of Nouméa Mayor (Sonia Lagarde), Mont-Dore (Eddie Lecourieux) and Dumbéa (Yoann Lecourieux) and pro-independence leader Roch Wamytan.
During his inaugural homily, the new archbishop appealed to all Catholics, especially in New Caledonia, to remain "artisan of peace".
Catholicism is a major religious denomination in New Caledonia, with a 182-year history in the French Pacific territory.
In the weeks following destructive riots that broke out on 13 May 2024, several Catholic missions throughout New Caledonia were targeted by arson and largely destroyed.
As he was officially and liturgically intronised and ushered into the Cathedral, 60-year-old Mgr Sionepoe, who was elevated to the position by Pope Francis on 15 January 2025, was surrounded by conches and drums from Lifou Island, as well as traditional singing and dancing from his native islands of Wallis-et-Futuna.
The ceremony was also attended by over six hundred Catholics outside the Cathedral on a giant screen.
Back in Wallis-and-Futuna, the live broadcast was followed by thousands.
Monsignor Sionepoe, from Wallis-and-Futuna, was ordained priest in 1993 and became Bishop of Wallis in 1998.
During his career, he has also served in Tonga, in the North of New Caledonia and Fiji.
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