St. Michael's Cathedral, Rikitea Cathédrale Saint-Michel, Rikitea (in French) | |
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![]() A white washed St. Michael's Cathedral on Mangareva island | |
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23°7′13″S 134°58′9″W / 23.12028°S 134.96917°W | |
Country | French Polynesia |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
History | |
Status | Former cathedral |
Consecrated | |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Style | Neo Gothic |
Groundbreaking | 17 January 1839 |
Completed | 1848 |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Papeete |
St. Michael's Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Michel, Rikitea), also known as the Rikitea Cathedral, is a parish of the Catholic Church located on Mangareva Island in the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia.
Its historic neo-Gothic church was built on the eastern side of Rikitea between 1839 and 1848 by missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. It formerly served as cathedral for what is now the Archdiocese of Papeete, and was extensively renovated in 2011. The parish community remains very active, within the limitations of the small population of the island.