Reverend Winston Halapua was the priest at St. Luke's church at the time; he would later become a bishop.
In 2009, an earthquake and tsunami hit Samoa, and devastated parts of the country, including the southern coast of Upola where Tuatagaloa-Leota's home village is located.
[2] In 2000, she served as co-president of that year's General Synod of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
[5] After she had been made an archdeacon, Tuatagaloa-Mataleva was appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to serve as the UN Observer for the Anglican Communion, succeeding Bishop Herbert Donovan.
[6] After Tuatagaloa-Leota completed her term, the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed Hellen Grace Wangusa as the next UN Observer for the Anglican Communion.
[7] On 12 July 2009, Tuatagaloa-Leota was ordained to the priesthood at a service in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand.
[3] She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Ignatius University at a ceremony held in New York City in 2006.