austraLasia
1403
Death of
Cardinal Pio Taufinu'u, Archbishop emeritus of Samoa-Tokelau, who invited the
Salesians into his
archdiocese
APIA: 23rd January
2006 -- Cardinal Pio Taofinu'u SM, first ever Polynesian-born
bishop and Cardinal, died on 19th January in the Samoan capital, Apia, and was
laid to rest on 21st in the Cathedral there. Cardinal Pio invited the
Salesians to Polynesia, and specifically to Samoa, just 26 years ago. As a
bishop he believed strongly in the value of consecrated life and sought to
encourage and nurture its many different forms in his archdiocese, which
extended beyond the islands of Samoa itself to take in the tiny nation of
Tokelau, and other scattered islands of the Pacific at various times. He
strongly supported Catholic education, especially for the poorest of his flock
and it was in this context that he sought the direct intervention of the Rector
Major of the time, Fr Viganò, to have the Salesians in his Archdiocese.
The Rector Major approached the Australian provincial, and the 'Salesian map' in
Oceania began to be re-drawn, since at precisely the same time there were
requests to begin Salesian work in Papua New Guinea. Political reasons
made it impossible for Australia to move in that direction (Australia was
relinquishing its semi-colonial role there at the time), so Samoa was taken
up. Cardianl Pio also encouraged missionary activity and was amongst the
first of the Pacific Island dioceses to encourage his priests in particular to
consider preaching the Good News well beyond their own confines. Samoan
priests today serve in a number of missionary situations.
As a young priest, Pio Taofinu'u joined the Marists. He soon came to the
notice of his own Religious and ecclesiastical superiors, and found himself in
Rome helping his Bishop at the time of the Vatican Council. This obviously
also brought him to the attention of Pope Paul VI who appointed him bishop in
1968 for the Apia diocese, which then became an Archdiocese with Tokelau
attached in 1975. Soon after his appointment as Bishop he had the joy of
welcoming Pope Paul VI to his diocese. He always spoke fondly of Paul VI
as a father to him. Three years after that visit, Paul VI created him a
cardinal, the first ever indigenous Pacifican to receive that honour and until
today, the only one.
The Salesians owe a great debt of
gratitude to Cardinal Pio, but it is one they have also paid with diligence,
effort and by giving the Samoan Church many fine young priests and religious in
the first instance, and an educational institution second to none in the South
Pacific, the Don Bosco Technical Centre in Apia, not to mention two flourishing
parishes, the preparation of the nation's lay catechists over a twenty year
period and the management of the minor seminary (both now handed back to the
archdiocese).
Cardinal Pio was an imaginative 'dreamer'
for his people. It is fitting that he be buried at the foot of Mount Vaea
which directly overlooks the Cathedral, for on that mountain's summit lies the
last resting place of a man the Samoans call 'Tusitala', the teller of tales,
Robert Louis Stevenson (of Treasure Island fame, amongst many other literary
works). Always arguing against realism, Stevenson would underline what he
called 'the nameless longings' of the reader. He and the Cardinal shared
something there. But Stevenson died at 44, Pio at 82. He could, and
did add the realism of a long life's experiences to his
dreams.
One of Stevenson's prayers may be an appropriate
prayer to conclude with, a prayer of Grace:
'Deliver us
from fear and favour, from mean hopes and cheap pleasures. Have mercy on
each in his deficiency; let him be not cast down; support the stumbling on the
way, and give at last rest to the weary'
Amen.
______________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of
Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome.
For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml