The following gives a small history of the Seychelles and the Diocese

1609 (19th January) : Alexander Sharpeigh’s British expedition gives a precise description of the country for the first time. He notes that it seemed as if no one before them had visited the islands.

1742 (19th November) : Sent by Mahé de Labourdonnais, governor of the Mascarene

Islands, Lazare Piccault arrives in the archipelago which he names ‘Iles de Labourdonnais ’ : and the main island ‘Ile d’Abondance’ which later becomes Mahé island.

1756 (1st November) : Corneille, Nicolas Morphey officially takes possession of the islands and gives them the name of Séchelles (Seychelles) in honour of the Vicomte Jean, Moreau de Séchelles, controller general of the King’s finances.

1770 (27th August) : Landing in Seychelles of the first 26 inhabitants. They settle on Sainte Anne Island under the leadership of Delaunay.

1811 (21st April) : The Seychelles officially become a British colony, dependant on the governor of Mauritius.

1832 : The Anglican pastor, Norton, is sent to Seychelles, by the governor of Mauritius, to establish the Anglican Church. But he leaves a few months later.

1838 : Liberation of slaves.

1838 : The capital of Seychelles takes the name ‘Victoria’ to honour Queen Victoria of England.

1851 (1st March) : Father Léon des Avanchers, Savoyard Capuchin, disembarks in Victoria, where he stays for three weeks, preaching, marrying and baptising by the hundreds. He consecrates the mission to Mary, the Immaculate Conception. But failing to obtain a resident’s permit, he has to set sail for Mauritius, to the consternation of the population.

1852 (26th November) : By decree of the Congregation of the Propagation, the Seychelles Mission is put under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Port-Louis and is set up as an Apostolic Prefecture.

1853 (20th September) : Arrival of the first two missionaries : Fathers Jérémie de Paglietta (Italian) and Théophile, Savoyard from Châteauneuf. Father Jérémie becomes the first Apostolic Prefect.

1861 (15th January) : Arrival of the first three sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny. They will teach girls and take care of orphans.

1864 : The Seychelles Mission is entrusted to the Province of Savoy Capuchins.

1867 (19th September) : Arrival of the first three brothers of the Christian Schools for the education of boys. They will leave the island in December 1875.

1875 : The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny are sent to work as nurses at the new Victoria Hospital.

1880 (5th April) : The Prefecture is set up as an Apostolic Vicariate. Father Ignace de Villafranca is the first Apostolic Vicar.

1884 (4th January) : Arrival of the Marist Brothers. They take the direction of the Saint Louis College and other schools. They will depart in February 1946.

1892 (21st July) :The Seychelles become a Diocese; Bishop Marc Hudrisier is the first Bishop of the Diocese of Port-Victoria.

1903 : The Seychelles become an autonomous Colony of the British Crown and depend directly on the Ministry of Colonies in London.
1922 : The Diocese is entrusted to the Capuchins of the Swiss Province. Bishop Justin Gumy becomes the first Swiss bishop.
1935 : Bishop Ernest Joye launches the monthly newspaper ‘L’Action Catholique’, which will become ‘L’Écho des Îles’ in 1957.
1937 (6th December) : Father Olivier Maradan is consecrated bishop in the Fribourg Cathedral. (Switzerland).
1938 : The Catholic Church is officially recognised as an incorporated body, by an Act of Parliament.
1942 : Father Maurice Roh establishes the Charity and the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elisabeth to take care of orphans, the elderly and the poor.
1949 (21st November) : The first two brothers of Ploërmel arrive in the Diocese.
1950 (1st January) : Ordination, in Rome, of the first Seychellois diocesan priest, Father James Chang-Tave.
1950 (16th January) : Opening of the school year at the Preparatory School, under the direction of the brothers of Ploërmel.
1951 (9th September) : Ordination of Father Symphorien Morel, Ofm. Cap. (Paul Morel) first Seychellois Capuchin priest.
1952 (28th October) : Consecration and dedication of the Cathedral by Bishop Marcel Olivier Maradan and centenary of the Mission.
1954 : Year consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima. A grotto
is erected to mark this event.
1960 (21st December) : Ordination of Father Félix Paul, by Bishop Marcel Olivier Maradan, at Saint Maurice, Valais, Switzerland.
1961 (15th January) : Centenary of the arrival of the Sisters of Cluny in the Diocese.
1962-1965 : Bishop Maradan participates in the deliberations of the Second Vatican Council in Rome.

1972 (6th October) : Pope Paul VI accepts the resignation of Bishop Marcel Olivier Maradan. Father Gervais Aeby, Ofm. Cap. is nominated Apostolic Administrator.
1975 (25th July) : The first Seychellois bishop, Father Félix Paul, is consecrated at the People’s Stadium by Bishop Margéot, Bishop of the Diocese of Port-Louis.
1976 (29th June) : Seychelles attains independence and becomes a Republic. James Mancham becomes the president of a coalition government, Albert René is Prime Minister.
1977 (5th June) : Coup d’état perpetrated by Albert René. He installs a socialist system.
1981 : The government nationalises all schools built by the Mission.
1985 : The government transforms the Regina Mundi Convent School for girls and the residence of the teaching nuns into the Ministry of Education.
1985 : The Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples legally forms the Episcopal Conference of the Indian Ocean (CEDOI). Bishop Margéot is the first president and Father Xavier Baronnet, s.j. the first Secretary General.
1986 (1st December) : The Diocese welcomes Pope John-Paul II for a pastoral visit.
1992 : The Diocese celebrates the centenary of its creation.
1993 : The government accepts the multi-party system ; a new constitution sees the light of day.
1994 : Bishop Félix Paul resigns as Bishop of the Diocese of Port-Victoria.
Pope John-Paul II nominates Bishop Gilbert Aubry Apostolic Administrator
of the Diocese.
1995 (25th March) : Father Xavier Baronnet s.j. is nominated Bishop of
the Diocese of Port-Victoria.
1995 (4th September) : Act of transfer of properties of the Swiss Province, to the Diocese of Port-Victoria.
1998 (20th April) : In a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ between the Government and the Church, it is agreed that :

1. The Government recognises that the Church is the owner of all the
Catholic schools nationalised in 1981.
2. The Church cedes these same schools to the government according
to the terms of a 99 year lease signed by the two parties and by which
3. The Government gives two periods for Catholic religious instruction each week in all schools.

1999 : Under the episcopate of Bishop Xavier Baronnet, the Institute of Saint
Elisabeth merges with the ‘Congrégation des Filles de Marie de La Réunion’.
2000 (12th June) : By an Act of the National Assembly, the official name
of the Church is changed from ‘The Mission of Seychelles’ to ‘The Catholic
Church in Seychelles’.
2001 (14th May) : Bishop Xavier Baronnet gets a coadjutor, namely Father Denis Wiehe, CSSp.
2001 (15th August) : Episcopal consecration of Father Denis Wiehe, Bishop
of the Diocese of Port-Victoria.
2001 (21st November) : Death of Bishop Félix Paul in Spain. His corpse is
repatriated and is laid to rest in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
2004 : Albert René resigns as President of the third republic in favour of Mr
James Michel, the vice-President.
2015 (Easter) : Publication of the book : Short History of the Diocese of Port-Victoria.
2015 : Publication of the Bible in Kreol Seselwa.