Alapati Lui Mataeliga
Alapati Lui Mataeliga (4 January 1953 – 25 April 2023) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Samoa-Apia and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Mission sui iuris of Tokelau. He was born in Sataua on the island of Savai'i. He was ordained for the presbyterate of the Diocese of Samoa and Tokelau on 5 July 1977. Upon the retirement of Cardinal Pio Taofinu'u, Father Mataeliga was appointed by the Holy See as the second Archbishop of Samoa-Apia on 16 November 2002. He was consecrated to the episcopate and installed as ordinary by Archbishop Patrick Coveney, Apostolic Nuncio to Samoa, on 3 January 2003.
His Excellency, The Most Reverend Alapati Lui Mataeliga | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Samoa-Apia Ecclesiastical Superior of Tokelau | |
| Archdiocese | Samoa-Apia |
| Appointed | 16 November 2002 |
| Installed | 3 January 2003 |
| Term ended | 25 April 2023 |
| Predecessor | Pio Taofinu'u |
| Successor | Vacant |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 5 July 1977 by Pio Taofinu'u |
| Consecration | 3 January 2003 by Patrick Coveney, Petero Mataca, and Soane Lilo Foliaki |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 January 1953 Sataua, Western Samoa Trust Territory (now Samoa) |
| Died | 25 April 2023 (aged 70) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Parents | Lauiliu Utu Vaoliko Mata'eliga (mother) and Vaoliko Sui Panitaleo Mata'eliga (father) |
| Styles of Alapati Lui Mataeliga | |
|---|---|
| Reference style |
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| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
On 31 May 2021, during the 2021 Samoan constitutional crisis, Alapati denounced the caretaker prime minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi for ignoring the courts and refusing to yield power. In the aftermath of the crisis, when the FAST government was refusing to allow opposition MPs to be sworn into parliament, Alapati performed an ifoga outside the Legislative Assembly of Samoa in order to seek peace.
Mataeliga died in Auckland, New Zealand on 25 April 2023, at the age of 70.