Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa is one of the VIP officials invited by the Catholic Diocese of Samoa Pago Pago to attend the Ordination of Reverend Father Kolio Tumanuvao Etuale.
This was confirmed in a statement issued.
The Catholic Diocese of Samoa Pago Pago, under the leadership of His Lordship, Bishop Peter Hugh Brown, announces the Episcopal
The Mass of Ordination will be held at the Holy Family Cathedral in Fatu-o-Aiga on the 4th of November at 9:00 am, followed by a Thanksgiving Mass on the 5th of November at 10:00 am.
Following the Ordination mass is the Ava ceremony performed by the Village of Fagasa and entertainment from the Catholic schools: Fa’asaō Marist High School, Marist St, Francis, and St. Theresa elementary school.
The Principal Consecrator is Bishop Peter H. Brown, and the Co-Consecrators are the Nuncio Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa, apostolic delegate, and Archbishop Alapati Lui Mataeliga of the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia.
On the 4th of August, at the Feast of St John Vianney, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, announced on Vatican Radio in Rome that “Reverend Father Kolio Tumanuvao Etuale has been chosen to be the Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese”. Earlier this week, the Samoa-Pago Pago Bishop expressed his joy in a media release on the Diocese website: “With great joy and praise to God, the Diocese of Samoa Pago Pago announces the appointment of the first local priest to be chosen bishop for the Church in American Samoa.”
The 49-year-old Bishop-Elect is the son of Tumanuvao Etuale Felise of Lotofaga, Samoa, and the late Maniva Palala of Moata’a, Samoa. He was raised in Iliili, American Samoa, by his second parents, Tumanuvao Kelekolio Tumanuvao and Monika Etuale.
Rev. Fr. Father Etuale obtained his BA in Philosophy and Master of Divinity at Mt. Angel Seminary in Oregon. He is now pursuing a doctorate in pastoral ministry and is a prospective graduate next year. On May 29, 2003, he was ordained as a priest in American Samoa and has worked extensively in parishes throughout the diocese for 19 years. He was best admired for his many years of service as a Catholic educator and an advocator for youth development. He was appointed the Chancellor of the Diocese in 2021.
The Coadjutor is profoundly gratified and humbled by his appointment and has urged parishioners, families, and friends to pray for him as he assumes this new and important role.
The American Samoa Governor, Lemanu S. P. Mauga, and Samoa’s Prime Minister, Honorable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, are among the VIP officials invited to the episcopal ceremony next week. The public is invited to attend this momentous occasion on November 4 on the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo.
