Soane Patita Paini Mafi

Soane Patita Paini Mafi (Tongan pronunciation: [soaːne patita paɪni 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]

His Eminence Soane Patita Paini Mafi
Cardinal Bishop of Tonga
The cardinal in Rome on 23 October 2015.
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Diocese	Tonga
See	Tonga
Appointed	18 April 2008
Installed	21 April 2008
Predecessor	Soane Lilo Foliaki
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Paola Romana (2015-)
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
Birth name	Soane Patita Paini Mafi
Born	19 December 1961 Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Previous post	Coadjutor Bishop of Tonga (2007-08) President of CEPAC (2010-16)
Motto	"Ke Loloto e Tui" ("Thank you for your kindness")
Coat of arms

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

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

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]

Coat of arms of Diocese of Tonga

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[6] 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.[7]

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. Patrick Downes (January 28, 2016). "Hawaii welcomes Tonga's first, church's youngest cardinal". hawaiicatholicherald.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
7. Olsen, Simone (May 2015). "Roman Curia appointments for Oceania cardinals". Wel-Com. Wellington. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

External links

• "Mafi Card. Soane Patita Paini". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.