Group of islands in the western Pacific Ocean, of which Tutuila and others are under the dominion of the United States, and Western Samoa belongs to the Dominion of New Zealand. The American islands are administered by a commandant-governor appointed by the President of the United States, and a local assembly. Western Samoa is governed by an administrator and a legislative council. The first Catholic missionaries, Marists, arrived in Samoa in 1845. Today there are a variety of religions practiced, with about 20% of the populatio being Catholic. Ecclestiastically the islands are governed by the archdiocese of
and the diocese of