Samoa's Catholic faithful are mourning the passing of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Samoa-Apia, and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Mission sui iuris of Tokelau, Archbishop Alapati Lui Mataeliga. 

He passed away at the age of 70 in Auckland, New Zealand in the early hours of Tuesday with the Catholic faithful from all walks of life paying homage to his service to the church and his life in their social media posts. 

Bishop Peter H Brown of the Diocese of Samoa Pago-Pago, in a post on Facebook at around 5 am Tuesday morning, expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Archbishop Mataeliga.

"With great sadness, the Archdiocese Samoa Apia announced the news of the passing of their beloved Archbishop Alapati at 3 am in Auckland New Zealand this morning," the Diocese Samoa Pago Pago post.

"Let us join in prayer and love with our brothers and sisters in Samoa as they mourn the loss of their spiritual leader. We, the bishops, priests, deacons, and catechists, and people of the Diocese of Samoa Pago Pago offer our heartfelt prayers and sympathy to Samoa."

Archbishop Mataeliga was ordained for the presbyterate of the Diocese of Samoa and Tokelau on 5 July 1977. He was believed to be the youngest Samoan seminarian ever to be ordained a priest. He was 24 when he was ordained.

Upon the retirement of Cardinal Pio Taofinuu, he was appointed by the Vatican as Archbishop on 16 November 2002 and was consecrated in January 2003.

As a priest, he served in American Samoa at Fagatogo, Laulii, and Holy Family Parish, Fatuoaiga. Archbishop Alapati was last in the territory last October for the ordination of the new Bishop of the local Diocese, Kolio Etuale Tumanuvao.

He was a vocal church leader and was a constant critic of the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) government and its leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, whom he referred to as his "spiritual son". 

In June 2021 after the general election in Samoa, the Archbishop during mass lashed out at the caretaker government at the time and warned the country was "sliding into a dictatorship."

“There is no peace and there is no unison and it appears as if our forefathers shed blood for no reason,” he said at the time. “This all comes down to government leaders fighting for power.”

The Archbishop then used the occasion to remind government leaders that they are public servants and their calling is to serve Samoa.

“Without Samoa, there will be no leaders and the people should be well aware of that, the power which is being abused by these leaders was given to them by us, the members of the public,” he told the congregation at that time. 

He also appealed to the government leaders to remember that they were voted in by the people and the same people can remove them from power.