The long wait for the Catholic faithful is over as they welcomed their new leader, His Grace Archbishop Mosese Vitolio Tui at Saint Therese Tofamamao, Leauvaa on Thursday.

In his humble remarks, after he was ordained as the new Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Samoa, he stressed that he did not want to be compared to the late Cardinal Pio Taofinuu and the late Archbishop Alapati Lui Mataeliga. 

"Today, it's been great. My motto is "My soul magnifies the Lord." It is very easy. If the archdiocese gruntles then all I say is "My soul magnifies the Lord" and your soul should also magnify God," he said. 

"You see how smart I am with choosing my theme. I will not do the Tuutuuileloloto of Cardinal Pio because I will drown, I will not do the "Auauna atu" by the late Archbishop Alapati because it's hard. 

"Please I ask you, do not compare me to Cardinal Pio and Alapati. If you come to me with your comparison, you will retreat. The Cardinal he is farsighted, he looks far ahead and I do not want to be like the Cardinal because the Falealupo man is very smart. 

"You should also not compare me to Alapati, there is no priest that understands the bible better than Alapati. No matter how hard you prepare your homily, you will never be Alapati. The Mosese you used to know, is the same Mosese you will be looking at. I will not change myself.

"When I become Pope, I promise I will modify and simplify the liturgy for the Ordination, so that it will become a 30 or 40 minutes affair. Especially, for us in the Pacific, because we don't have winter or autumn, it's always spring or summer. I was all sweaty at the back before the procession."

His Grace acknowledged the hard work of the people for his ordination. 

"It's been a good two weeks coming to today. There are so many people, in every committee and meeting. They work hard not for Mosese, and blame the Lord for all these. Blame him up there. When Peter Loy was appointed Archbishop of Suva and me here, people said there must be a mistake, the Holy Spirit did. Well, you blame it up there."

`During the handover of Archbishop Mosese by the Auckland archdiocese, Bishop Stephen Lowe said despite how heartbroken they were to lose him, they were thrilled to see him serve in his new calling. It was an emotional handover as they bid him farewell in the traditional Maori way.

"If you don't love him, take care of him, we will take him back," said Bishop Stephen.

His Grace also acknowledged the hard work, dedication and love shown by the Auckland archdiocese.

"Bishop Stephen, if the pressure is too much, I'll jump on the plane and come back to Auckland. But thank you for looking after me. I learned a lot being a part of the Auckland archdiocese, it's all in order," he said.  

"Everything is in order, the collection, the diocese sees how much you get so I cannot hide. It's very good and it's very organised."

A teacher from Don Bosco College, Salelologa Mr Ioane Leituala was very emotional as he shared his relationship with His Grace at Don Bosco Salelologa.

"He is one of the people who started the College. My heart is full, quite emotional to see him in his full armour, who would've thought he would become the leader of the Church today? But well deserved," he said.

"I am so proud that I had the chance to work alongside him and know him personally. He hasn't changed a bit. No doubt, he will be one of the greatest leaders of the church in Samoa. He invited our school to be part of his ordination, so we are performing today and sing for his first Mass as the Archbishop tomorrow."