The Monumental Cathedrals and Chapels of Wallis Island
Traditional Polynesian culture mixes with the Roman Catholic faith in a big way on this remote island nation.
For its size (~30 square miles) and population (just over 8,000 people), Wallis Island has a disproportionate number of cathedrals and chapels. Each district has a grand church, and each village has its own patron saint.
A bit of history: The first Catholic missionaries from France arrived in Wallis in 1837, and in 1847 established the Lano Seminary – the first Catholic seminary of Oceania. Lano celebrated a 150-year anniversary in 1997 and is still in operation today. There is also a convent on the island, Les Sœurs missionnaires de la Société de Marie (The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary), which was pioneered by nuns from France in in the 1840’s.
Ninety-nine percent of Wallisian people are Roman Catholic (”Lotu Katolika”), and religion (”lotu”) and culture (”Aga’ifenua”) are closely tied together. Faith plays a fundamental role in their daily lives and significant events and festivals are always marked by the celebration of mass, followed by a sharing of gifts (katoaga) and traditional dances.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been able to visit almost half of the cathedrals and chapels around the island. I wasn’t always able to go inside, but the exteriors are all unique, and impressive in their architecture and lava rock construction. Many include a functional bell tower, and the bell ropes usually hang down at the main entrance to the church. Quite a few are situated on large properties, with expanses of lawn, meticulously maintained.
The islands’ cathedrals and chapels are marked on this map, the ones numbered 1 – 9 are the ones I visited.
1. Cathédrale Notre Dame de l’Assomption (Our Lady of the Assumption) This is the main cathedral of the island. Construction started in 1952 and was completed in 1959. Built from blue volcanic stones, it is an imposing structure with two rectangular towers that dominate the waterfront in the main village. Above the double wooden doors on the front is the royal insignia of Wallis, a Maltese cross. I never got a look inside, but I’m sure it’s impressive.
Just behind the cathedral is the royal compound and residence of the 52nd Lavelua (king) of Wallis (Uvea), Patalione Kanimoa. Sadly, I never got to meet him, but I’m pretty sure I saw him at the school near our anchorage one day. He looks like a really cool guy.
2. Chapelle Liku – This charming little shoreside chapel is just north of Mata Utu on the beach road. The interior was under renovation, but the outside of the chapel was freshly painted and very clean. I especially liked the three-story front entrance, with the cross inside the bell tower.
3. Chapelle de Alele Also built along the beach road, this chapel resembles a pagoda, with a four-story bell tower at the entrance. The brickwork is whitewashed, with red mortar. The balustrades on the tower are cast concrete, also painted red and repeated in the bright green fence that surrounds the property.
4. Eglise Saint Pierre et Saint-Paul (Church of St. Peter and St. Paul) This church, built in 1865/66 also has a pagoda-like tower that dominates the front of the structure. The stonework is very intricate, with curved arches built into each level. There is a large gold Maltese cross on the top of the tower, flanked by statues of St. Peter and St. Paul on the front corners.
5. Chapelle Lausikula This imposing chapel on the shore on the southwest point of the island is visible from our anchorage. The location was originally the site of a small oratory, with a statue of St. Bernadette standing at the entrance to a natural cave hollowed out in the cliff-face. After Cyclone Evan in 2012, construction started on this church, and it was completed in 2014. It was originally all white but now it sports bright blue trim. Inside, the wooden ceiling is most spectacular, and carved wooden panels decorate each pillar. The belfry tower soars up from the front entrance, and the bell rope looks well used on this one.
6. Chapelle Sainte Jeanne d’Arc (Chapel of Saint Joan of Arc) This church is another impressive example of lava rock construction, with coral limestone mortar. The interior is remarkable, with a wooden beamed ceiling that is supported by decorated pillars and entirely covered in tapa cloth embellished with intricate hand-painted geometric designs.
7. Chapelle de St. Christophe (Chapel of St. Christopher) This simple little chapel dedicated to the patron saint of travelers (like us) is on one of the motus in the southern part of the lagoon. The stone steps that lead up to the chapel from the beach can only be accessed at low tide. The steps go up in 4 stages to the top of the motu, past palms, plumerias, and frangipani trees. The chapel was decorated with fabric draping the pillars, and the statue of St. Christopher was adorned with flowers and had garlands made from the seeds of pandanus trees around his neck. The views from the top are beautiful.
8. Église Saint Joseph (Church of St. Joseph) This grand church in the village of Mala’efo’ou was built on the site of the first Christian place of worship in Wallis – a hut of woven palm leaves that was built in 1840. This church replaced it and opened in 1869. The parish feast day held each year on May Day celebrates Joseph the Carpenter and is said to be one of the most joyous festivals on the island. The interior of this one was very polished, with arched ceiling supports and a second story balcony all around.
9. Église du Sacré Coeur (Church of the Sacred Heart) The bell tower on this church was the tallest one I saw, with five progressively smaller stories, topped with a big white cross. The stonework is very detailed with starred medallions, small windows and shuttered openings on all levels. On the inside, the some of the small windows are glazed with colored glass, which makes a beautiful contrast to the glossy white interior. It stands in the middle of a large field of green grass and can be seen from a great distance as you approach by road.
Overall, I was amazed at the scale and detail of these unique churches and chapels that became part of my island experience on Wallis. They are astonishing roadside attractions, and clearly an important part of all the villages where they are situated.
But they were surprisingly empty. Occasionally I saw care takers working on the grounds, but no one else. There were fresh flowers on the altars, the floors were shiny clean, there was not a speck of dust on anything - but there was not another person to be seen.
I’m sure it’s a different story on Sundays, but I had the churches of Wallis Island all to myself.
Sail on fearless crew! LJ
To all my constant readers, I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into some of the wild and wonderful things we see on this adventure of ours. Thank you for coming along. I’m so grateful that you are interested in these stories, and would love for you to invite your friends and family to come aboard. All are welcome on SV Duende.
If you are new to the crew, you should start at the beginning of this adventure with the Duende Origin Story Part 1 (and 2, and 3, and 4).
Hello there Linda, you share some great posts friend. I’ve been on Substack around 2 weeks, and I’m trying to meet new people.
I suppose the best introduce for me would be one of my articles, my latest piece:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jordannuttall/p/the-vegetable-lamb-of-tartary?r=4f55i2&utm_medium=ios
This is so cool. I never imagined all of them could look so unique. It's incredible. I would also love to visit someday. This is the first I'm hearing of this beautiful place.