San José de Paopao, the Catholic Church of Moorea
In the Bay of Paopao, on the island of Moorea, the Catholic parish of San José - of the Archdiocese of Papeete - holds one of the treasures of the Christian art of Oceania: the chapel of 1929 with the fresco of the Nativity painted in 1946 by Peter Heyman, where the Virgin, San José and the Child have Polynesian features. The famous octagonal temple of Papetoai on the same island is Protestant and should not be confused with it.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- The chapel of San José, a rectangular and swordsman, was built in 1929 and restored in 1948 and 1998; its altar is encrusted in mother-of-pearl, the fruit of the art of the islands placed at the service of veneration.
- The fresco of the Nativity, painted in 1946 by the Swedish artist Peter Heyman, shows the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and the Child Jesus with polynesian features next to the archangel Gabriel: the parishioners wrote to the Pope to be able to contemplate the mystery of Bethlehem with the face of their own people.
- The chapel served as a parish church until 1979, when it was decided to raise the current church of San José a few meters away; the old chapel was rescued from oblivion and completely restored in 1998.
- The parish also retains the painting "La huida a Egypt," of ocean iconography - even the angel and the landscape are from Paopao Bay -, chosen in 2025 in a Pacific regional competition for its restoration.
San José de Paopao
In Paopao, at the foot of the mountains of Moorea, the Catholic faith flourished with a Polynesian face: in the chapel of San José, the Nativity painted in 1946 shows Mary and the Child with the traits of the people of the island. A humble corner where the Gospel truly became home.
"St. Mary, Mother of God, and St. Joseph, her husband, pray for the people of Moorea.
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