Soane Patita Paini Mafi

His Eminence Soane Patita Paini Mafi
Cardinal, Bishop of Tonga
Church	Roman Catholic
Diocese	Tonga
Appointed	18 April 2008
Predecessor	Soane Lilo Foliaki
Other posts	President of CEPAC
Orders
Ordination	29 June 1991 by Patelisio Punou-Ki-Hihifo Finau
Consecration	4 October 2007 by Soane Lilo Foliaki
Created Cardinal	14 February 2015 by Pope Francis
Rank	Cardinal priest
Personal details
Born	19 December 1961 Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Previous post	Coadjutor Bishop of Tonga
Motto	"Ke Loloto e Tui" (Thank you for your kindness)
Coat of arms

Ordination history of Soane Patita Paini Mafi
Priestly ordination
Date of ordination	29 June 1991
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecrator	Soane Lilo Foliaki, SM
Co-consecrators	Alapati Lui Mataeliga Petero Mataca
Date of consecration	4 October 2001
Cardinalate
Elevated by	Pope Francis
Date of elevation	14 February 2015

Styles of Soane Patita Paini Mafi
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal

Soane Patita Paini Cardinal Mafi (born 19 December 1961) is the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of Tonga.^[1] At the age of 53, on 14 February 2015, he was appointed by Pope Francis as the first ever cardinal from Tonga and he became on that date the youngest member of the College of Cardinals^[2] with the title of cardinal priest assigned to the titular church of Santa Paola Romana.^[3][4]

Early life

Mafi was born into a strongly Catholic family. His father and grandfather were catechists. He grew up in Tonga and, as a young man, joined a youth group at his parish in Kolofo'ou near the capital Nuku'alofa on the main island of Tongatapu. He studied for the priesthood at the Pacific Regional Seminary in Suva, Fiji. He was ordained a priest in 1991 at the age of 29.^[5]

Priesthood

He then spent four years in parish work on the Tongan island of Ha'apai. In 1995 Bishop Foliaki appointed him Vicar-General of the diocese at the age of 34. He was only 5 years ordained.

He spent three years studying religious education at Loyola University, Baltimore, Maryland, graduating in 2000. He was then stationed for six years in Suva (Fiji), engaged in the formation training of local priests.^[5]

Bishop

Mafi was appointed coadjutor bishop of Tonga in June 2007 and was consecrated bishop in that year. When he succeeded Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki as Bishop of Tonga on 18 April 2008, he became the first diocesan priest to be bishop of the diocese of Tonga.^[5] His three predecessors were members of the Society of Mary. He participated in the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization held on October 5–19, 2014. Mafi has been president of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific since 2010.^[2]

Cardinal

On 14 February 2015, Pope Francis appointed Mafi a cardinal with the title of Cardinal-Priest of Santa Paola Romana. On 13 April 2015, he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum for Human and Christian Development.^[6]

See also

• Cardinals created by Francis
• Roman Catholicism in Tonga

References

1. "Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi". catholic-hierarchy.org. Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
2. Christopher Lamb, "Red hats for a global Church", The Tablet, 8 January 2014 (Retrieved 11 January 2015)
3. "Consistoro Ordinario Pubblico Del 14 Febraio 2015 Assegnazione Dei Titoli E Delle Diaconie Ai Nuovoi Cardinali". Vatican website. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
4. "Pope Francis appoints 20 new cardinals". BBC News. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
5. Peter Grace, First-ever cardinal appointed for Tonga", NZ Catholic, 15 January 2015, p. 1.
6. Olsen, Simone (May 2015). "Roman Curia appointments for Oceania cardinals". Wel-Com. Wellington. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

External Links