Florentin-Étienne Jaussen

Who was Florentin-Étienne Jaussen?

Monsignor Florentin-Étienne Jaussen was the first bishop of Tahiti and the man who brought the rongorongo script of Easter Island to the world's attention. In the 1860s Bishop Jaussen was responsible for ending the slave raids on Easter Island.

Jaussen was born in Rocles, France. He was Vicar Apostolic of Tahiti and titular bishop of Axieri from 9 May 1848 until 12 February 1884, when he resigned. During this time he went by the name Tepano, the Tahitian pronunciation of Etienne in its original Greek form Stephanos.