The number of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Hawaii will practically double later this month. At least for a few days.
The congregation of women that helped staff the explosion of Catholic education in 1950-60s Hawaii is celebrating its 75th year in the Islands with a 10:30 a.m. Mass Aug. 24 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
Nearly 20 sisters who once taught in the Islands will fly in from the Mainland to join the 25 locally-assigned sisters and their friends for the big celebration. Bishop Larry Silva will celebrate the Mass. A reception will follow in the parish hall.
According to Sister Claudia Wong, director of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Hawaii, the following sisters were making plans to come for the local festivities: Sister Anna Bridget Kearns, Sister John Vianney Mindak, Sister Jeanne Anne Collis, Sister Marie Gertrude Roldan, Sister Alice Roberta Benzing, Sister Joan Henehan, Sister Bernadette Newton, Sister Sara Kirsch, Sister Helen Janssen, Sister Karen Kennelly, Sister Pat Crother, Sister Angela Faustina, Sister Joy Giovannoni, Sister Margie Edic, Sister Joan Henehan, Sister Mary Ann Fisher, Sister Francine Costello and Sister Rosita Aranita.
On Aug. 24, 1938, nine Sisters of St. Joseph arrived in Honolulu on the S.S. Lurline to serve as the faculty of St. Theresa School in Kalihi. Many more would follow, augmented by a healthy number of local vocations, to staff schools and parish catechetical efforts on Oahu, Kauai and Maui.
The Hawaii Catholic Herald will have the full story of the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Hawaii in the Aug. 16 issue.
