Sancta Maria College is a co-ed Catholic School in Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after the schooner on which Bishop Pompallier travelled around New Zealand. The College is named after the mission schooner Sancta Maria on which Bishop Jean Baptist Pompallier sailed around New Zealand. The name Sancta Maria is a Latin title for Mary the mother of God. It means Holy Mary. 　 Bishop Pompallier, who is a specially honoured pioneer of the New Zealand Catholic Church, arrived in the Hokianga from France in 1838 with a group of Marist Priests and Brothers. With this group, he sailed around New Zealand converting settlers to Catholicism in the early 1840s. Fathers Garin and Viard who accompanied Bishop Pompallier established Churches in Howick and Panmure. Bishop Pompallier devised his own flag for the vessel - a bunting version of the Miraculous Modal, It consisted of a blue cross surmounting a large M and surrounded by twelve stars. The background was white. These twelve stars have been incorporated into the school logo along with the Sancta Maria and the school's motto 'FAITH IS OUR COMPASS'. The College’s name commemorates the historic arrival and work of Bishop Pompallier.