Monsignor Paini Mafi consecrated as Coadjutor Bishop [1]
Friday, October 5, 2007 - 09:57. Updated on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 - 15:18.
Soane Patita Paini Mafi was consecrated as Coadjutor Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tonga and Niue, in a Holy Mass last night.
Attended by His Majesty King George V and the Queen Mother Halaevalu Mata'aho, the sacred ceremony attracted around 1,000 people who not only filled the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary at Ma'ufanga, but poured on to the outside lawn.
His Lordship Bishop Dr Soane Lilo Foliaki conducted the main celebrant assisted by Bishops and over 50 priests from Tonga and Oceania.
In the Catholic Church, Monsignor Paini Mafi's role as Coadjutor Bishop is to assist Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki, and will take over as Bishop of Tonga and Niue once he retires.
Paini 45 was ordained as a Catholic Priest in 1991, served as Vicar General of the Diocese from 1995-97. He was also the Vice Rector of the Pacific Regional Seminary since 2000, a position he recently completed.