Photos by Tupou Vaipulu Jr.
The Commonwealth Secretary General, the Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland KC attended Easter Sunday mass in the Kauvai Parish of the village of Longoteme, Tongatapu, this morning, where Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga, conducted the service.
After touring Tongatapu yesterday, Rt Hon. Scotland KC, posted that it was sobering to visit the areas affected by the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption. In a video posted on X she said Tonga is on the forefront of climate change. “It's so hard to think about that devastation to lives and livlihoods. This is the reality of the existential threat which climate change poses, not just here in Tonga, but to so many of our small island developing states in the Commonwealth and beyond. We have to continue to fight climate change if we are to leave a legacy for our children and our grandchildren. Tonga is fighting, we will fight with them too.”
On her Pacific Islands visit the Rt. Hon. Scotland attended Good Friday Mass in Fiji. She recorded her journey with social media posts. “Blessed to attend #GoodFriday mass in Fiji as we prayed for the whole world. Particularly thinking of all those who are going through sadness & difficulty for whatever reason. May they feel the blessing, joy & love which this holy season brings to all people of goodwill.” she posted.
Rt. Hon. Scotland (68) was born in Dominica, in the British Windward Islands. She was the tenth child of twelve born to Roman Catholic parents, a Dominican mother and Antiguan father.
