Soane Patita Paini Mafi

Cardinal coat of arms of Soane Patita Paini Mafi

Soane Cardinal Patita Paini Mafi (born December 19, 1961 in Nukuʻalofa ) is a Tongan Roman Catholic clergyman and bishop of Tonga .

Life

Soane Mafi, who comes from a religious family, got involved in his parish as a teenager. He later studied philosophy and theology in Fiji . The Bishop of Tonga, Patelisio Punou-Ki-Hihifo Finau SM , ordained him on June 29, 1991 . From 1995 to 1997 he was Vicar General in Nuku'alofa. The following year he traveled to Baltimore for study purposes and returned to Tonga in 1999. In 2003 he became a professor at the regional Pacific seminary in Fiji, of which he was also vice rector.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him on June 28, 2007 Coadjutor Bishop of Tonga. The Bishop of Tonga, Soane Lilo Foliaki SM, donated him episcopal ordination on October 4th of the same year ; Co- consecrators were Alapati Lui Mataeliga , Archbishop of Samoa-Apia , and Petero Mataca , Archbishop of Suva . After retirement Soane Lilo Foliakis SM followed him on 18 April 2008 as Bishop of Tonga to.

In the consistory of February 14, 2015, Pope Francis accepted him as a cardinal priest with the titular church of Santa Paola Romana in the college of cardinals . This makes Mafi the first cardinal from Tonga.

In early April 2017, Cardinal Mafi collapsed and was hospitalized in Auckland , where he was planning to travel to the Vatican. In an interview in March 2018 he emphasized that he saw the key to the future of the Tongan Church in a “simple way of life”.

Memberships

Cardinal Mafi is a member of the following dicasteries of the Roman Curia :

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (since 2015)
Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" (since 2015)

Web links

Mafi, Soane Patita Paini. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed August 22, 2016.
Entry on Soane Patita Paini Mafi on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on August 22, 2016.

Individual evidence

^ Nomina del Coadiutore di Tonga (Regno di Tonga). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , June 28, 2007, accessed January 12, 2015 (Italian).
↑ Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli o Diaconie. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 14, 2015, accessed February 14, 2015 (Italian).
^ Bishop Patita Mafi, Tonga's first cardinal. Matangi Tonga Online, January 5, 2015, accessed January 17, 2015 .
↑ Patrick Downes: Hawaii welcomes Tonga's first, church's youngest cardinal ( English ) hawaiicatholicherald.com. January 28, 2016. Accessed July 19, 2020.
^ Tonga's Cardinal collapses in Auckland. Radio New Zealand, April 3, 2017, accessed March 30, 2018 .
^ Catholic Church future in Tonga depends on faith. Papua New Guinea Today, March 18, 2018, accessed March 30, 2018 .
↑ ^a ^b Nomina di Cardinali Membri dei Dicasteri della Curia Romana. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, April 13, 2015, accessed April 18, 2015 (Italian).

predecessor	Office	successor
Soane Lilo Foliaki SM	Bishop of Tonga since 2008	---

personal data
SURNAME	Patita Paini Mafi, Soane
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Patita Paini Mafi, Cardinal Soane
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Tongan priest, Bishop of Tonga
DATE OF BIRTH	December 19, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH	Nuku'alofa

[1] Nomina del Coadiutore di Tonga (Regno di Tonga). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , June 28, 2007, accessed January 12, 2015 (Italian).

[2] Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli o Diaconie. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 14, 2015, accessed February 14, 2015 (Italian).

[3] Bishop Patita Mafi, Tonga's first cardinal. Matangi Tonga Online, January 5, 2015, accessed January 17, 2015 .

[4] Patrick Downes: Hawaii welcomes Tonga's first, church's youngest cardinal ( English ) hawaiicatholicherald.com. January 28, 2016. Accessed July 19, 2020.

[5] Tonga's Cardinal collapses in Auckland. Radio New Zealand, April 3, 2017, accessed March 30, 2018 .

[6] Catholic Church future in Tonga depends on faith. Papua New Guinea Today, March 18, 2018, accessed March 30, 2018 .

[Bulletin-2015-04-13-7] Nomina di Cardinali Membri dei Dicasteri della Curia Romana. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, April 13, 2015, accessed April 18, 2015 (Italian).