Missionaries Missionaries began to be active in the Gilbert Islands in the 1850s. Dr Hiram Bingham II of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) arrived on Abaiang in 1857. The protestant missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS) were active in the southern Gilberts. On 15 October 1870, Rev. Samuel James Whitmee of the LMS arrived at Arorae, and later that month he visited Tamana, Onotoa and Beru. In August 1872, George Pratt of the LMS visited the islands. The Roman Catholic faith was introduced on Nonouti around 1880 by 2 Gilbert islanders, Betero and Tiroi, who had become christians in Tahiti. Father Joseph Leray, Father Edward Bontemps and Brother Conrad Weber, Roman Catholic Missionaries of the Sacred Heart arrived on Nonouti in 1888.
Missionaries Missionaries began to be active in the Gilbert Islands in the 1850s. Dr Hiram Bingham II of the American Board of Commissioners for Fo:reign Missions (ABCFM) arrived on Abaiang in 1857. The protestant missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS) were active in the southern Gilberts. On 15 October 1870, Rev. Samuel James Whitmee of the LMS arrived at Arorae, and later that month he visited Tamana, Onotoa and Beru. In August 1872, George Pratt of the LMS visited the islands. The Roman Catholic faith was introduced on Nonouti around 1880 by 2 Gilbert islanders, Betero and Tiroi, who had become christians in Tahiti. Father Joseph Leray, Father Edward Bontemps and Brother Conrad Weber, Roman Catholic Missionaries of the Sacred Heart arrived on Nonouti in 1888.