George Hamilton Pearce
The Most Reverend George Hamilton Pearce, SM, DD was the first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Apia, Samoa, and the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Suva, Fiji.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, his education included Saint Columbkille's Elementary School in Brighton, Massachusetts, Maryvale Preparatory Seminary in Bedford, Massachusetts, and at Marist College and Seminary in Framingham, Massachusetts. He was ordained to the presbyterate on February 3, 1947 by Archbishop Richard Cushing and was appointed Vicar Apostolic of the Navigators' Archipelago and Titular Bishop of Attalea in Pamphylia on February 29, 1956. He was consecrated to the episcopate on June 29, 1956 in Boston by Cushing.
On June 21, 1966 the Holy See elevated the vicariate apostolic to the dignity of a diocese and Pearce became the first Bishop of Apia. He was appointed as the first Archbishop of Suva, Fiji on June 22, 1967. He retired on April 10, 1976 and lived in Providence, Rhode Island where he led a Marian prayer group at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Pearce visited Fatima, Lourdes, and Medjugorje. Pearce died on August 30, 2015 at the age of 94.
