On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 12:00 noon in Rome (9:00 PM Solomon Islands time), His Holiness Pope Leo XIV appointed Rev. Fr. Jacob Aba, S.M., currently Pastor of Holy Name of Mary Parish in Tanagai (Honiara), as the Bishop of Auki.
The appointment was first communicated to the Archbishop of Honiara by the Apostolic Nunciature in Papua New Guinea on October 15, 2025. Following this, the Archbishop made a pastoral announcement of the appointment.
Profile of Bishop-Elect Rev. Fr. Jacob Aba, S.M.
Full Name: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aba, S.M.
Current Position: Pastor of Holy Name of Mary Parish, Tanagai (Honiara);
Member of the Provincial Council of the Society of Mary
Rev. Fr. Jacob Aba was born on January 6, 1976, in Matakana Kafo, Malaita, Diocese of Auki, Solomon Islands, to Soni Henry and Veronica Atoa.
He is one of six children, with one sister serving as a nun of the Society of Mary and currently a missionary in Peru. His family belongs to St. John Parish in Dala.
He attended high school at Biula Provincial Secondary School in Western Province.
From 2002 to 2009, he studied Philosophy and Theology at the Catholic Theological Institute in Bomana, Port Moresby, earning a bachelor’s degree.
He entered the Society of Mary and completed his novitiate in Tutu, Fiji, from 2003 to 2004, making his religious profession on December 28, 2004.
From 2015 to 2016, he undertook studies at St. Anselm’s Formation School in the United Kingdom.
In 2017, he earned a Diploma in Human Development, Leadership, Formation, and Community Building at Saint Anselm’s School in Kent, Great Britain.
Fr. Aba was ordained a priest on December 10, 2009, at the parish church of Dala in the Diocese of Auki.
Pastoral Assignments and Service:
2010–2011: Assistant Parish Priest, Holy Name of Mary Parish, Tanagai
2012–2014: Parish Priest, Queen of Martyrs, Wainoni, Makira
2017–2018: Formator, Marist College, Suva, Fiji
2018–2021: Formation Assistant, Marist Novitiate, Philippines
Since 2022: Director, Marist Farm; Chaplain, RTC Since 2023: Parish Priest, Holy Name of Mary Parish, Tanagai; Chaplain and
Board Member, St. Mary CHS; Member of the Provincial Council, Society of Mary.
The episcopal ordination of Rev. Fr. Jacob Aba, S.M., as Bishop of Auki is scheduled for January 2026.
