Mafi was responding to a question asked by many Tongans when news about his elevation broke in the kingdom: How did the tiny Pacific Tongan diocese in the Pacific come to be recognised like this by the Vatican?

The cardinal said while he was trying to come to terms with the news of his elevation he remembered how his mother ‘Onevao wrote to him while he was in the seminary in Fiji. He said she always addressed him by his christened name, with the salutation, "Siʻi Soane Patita."

Siʻi, a Tongan definitive article, carries a sense of emotion in Tongan when added to the name.

Soane Patita is the Catholic name for John the Baptist in Tongan.

Cardinal Mafi said John the Baptist was a very humble prophet who told Jesus he was unworthy to tie the straps of his sandals.

He was speaking at the ceremony of haʻunga, a Tongan presentation of pigs and kava as well and mats and ngatu to show appreciation for what has been achieved.

At the Haʻunga Kula, the Cardinal's Herald (he speaks on behalf of the Cardinal), recalled how he felt nervous when they arrived in the Vatican.

He said the novelty of the atmosphere hugely impressed him and made him ask how on earth this had happened.

Kula said the other cardinals who were elevated with Mafi were from well-known countries of the world.

He said his anxiety was propelled by the fact the MC of the day at the Vatican asked in front of the audience where Tonga was.

Then, using poetical languages, he said he came to realise that this was a religious event which was not based on worldly ideas and physicality but on Christian morals and ethics where everyone was the same in the eyes of God.

Source

• nzkanivapacific.co.nz
• Image: nzkanivapacific.co.nz

Nevertheless, it's unusual to find holy relics that could possibly be what they claim, and the researchers say they're surprised.

The bones were originally discovered in 2010 by archaeologist Kazimir Popkonstantinov, under an ancient church on an island in Bulgaria known as Sveti Ivan, or St John.

A small box made of hardened volcanic ash was found nearby, bearing inscriptions in ancient Greek that directly mention John the Baptist and his feast day, and ask God to "help your servant Thomas".

Six human bones, including a tooth and the face part of a cranium, were found in small a marble sarcophagus under the floor near the altar, along with three animal bones.

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