Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki remembered as a humble leader [1]
Friday, January 3, 2014 - 08:35
Obituary
Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki SM.
Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki SM (80), who served as the Catholic Bishop of Tonga and Niue from 1994 until 2008, died in Nuku‘alofa on Christmas Eve.
He passed away at the Bishop’s residence, Kaingafo‘ou, in the early morning of 24 December and was put to rest at the Kalevalio Cemetery, Ma‘ufanga, on 31 December 2013.
As a highly regarded Catholic leader of Tonga, Bishop Foliaki, also held concerns for the education of all Tongans, the protection of their freedom of speech, and the well-being of the poor. He was a humble leader who never sought the limelight, but lent his support to the wider community when it was needed.
Bishop Foliaki was appointed by Pope John Paul II as the Bishop of the Diocese of Tonga and Niue on 10 June 1994, following the death of Bishop Patelesio Finau on 4 October 1993.
Bishop Foliaki remained as the Bishop of the Diocese of Tonga and Niue until his retirment on April 18, 2008. He was succeeded by Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi.
Soane Lilo Foliaki and Patelesio Finau were destined to become leaders of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Region when they were sent by Bishop Rodgers SM to New Zealand in 1946 to finish their secondary education and for further studies.
In 1959 both Soane and Patelesio were ordained as priests in the Society of Mary by Bishop Rodgers SM in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.
As a Marist father, Father Foliaki became the Principal of ‘Api Fo‘ou College, Ma‘ufanga, in 1963. He also taught mathematics and general science and was the Inspector of Catholic Schools.
In 1966 he went on a Commonwealth Scholarship to study new mathematics at the University of Hull, in England. On the completion of his studies in Hull, he entered the University of St. Tomas Aquinas in Rome to study for his Licentiate in Theology, and graduated in 1969.
In 1981 Father Foliaki SM returned to Rome to study for his Doctorate in Systematic Theology at St Thomas Aquinas University, and graduated in 1983. He was then known as Doctor Fr. Soane Lilo Foliaki SM.
Serving as the Bishop of the Diocese of Tonga and Niue from 1993 to 2008, he made some invaluable contributions to Tonga's democratization process.
In 2003 Bishop Foliaki gave his support to 2,000 to 3,000 Freedom Marchers who gathered at the Catholic Basilica of St Anthony of Padua, Nuku‘alofa, and marched to the Tongan Parliament to present petitions calling for protection of Freedom of Speech, which was threatened by a Government Bill to change the Tongan Constitution.
In May 2005, Bishop Foliaki was among about 4,000 people in Tonga's biggest protest march to the Palace, protesting against the Shoreline company's control of the Tongan power supply. The Shoreline Group of companies was owned by the then Crown Prince Tupouto'a (later King George Tupou V) and the businessmen brothers Sefo and Soane Ramanlal.
In February 2007, he presented a donation of USD$50,000 from Pope Benedict XVI and $50,000 pa‘anga from the Catholic Diocese of Tonga and Niue to the Tongan Prime Minister and Government of Tonga, to assist the people of Tonga who had the greatest need following the November 2006 riots in Nuku‘alofa.