The retired Bishop of Samoa Pago Pago, Bishop Emeritus Peter Hugh Brown has been brought out of retirement and appointed the apostolic administrator of the Archbishop of Samoa Apia.

His appointment was confirmed through a papal decree issued by Pope Francis in the Vatican on Friday as reported by the Pago Pago news outlet Talanei News. It is understood the appointment is only temporary as the Catholic Church in Samoa awaits the appointment of a permanent archbishop following the passing of Archbishop Alapati Mataeliga in April this year. 

The decision to appoint retired Bishop Emeritus Brown was announced in Apia last week. An apostolic administrator is appointed to ensure the day-to-day functions of the archdiocese until such time as the appointment of a new bishop is completed. The new church head for the Samoa Archdiocese is expected to be appointed sometime next year.

Bishop Brown has asked the priests and people of the Archdiocese to work together with him so that they are well prepared to receive the new archbishop when the appointment is finalised and announced. 

Announcing his exit from active duty in April this year, the 75-year-old who was born in Greymouth, New Zealand and became an ordained priest in December 1981 (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer). He was appointed the Bishop of Samoa-Pago Pago, Samoa in May 2013 and was ordained a bishop later that year for the Catholic Church's Samoa-Pago Pago, American Samoa Archdiocese.

The Samoa Government's 2021 population and housing census recorded that the Catholic faithful totalled 36,096 out of the total country population of 205,557 and second behind the Congregational Christian Church Samoa (C.C.C.S.) whose membership totalled 55,411.