Diocesan Office for Social Ministry director Carol Ignacio will be retiring Nov. 1. Ignacio, shown here in a 2010 photo shoot, has served in the diocese for 27 years and pioneered dozens of programs for those in need. (Photo courtesy Sally Lundburg/Mahi’ai Creative)
“I love every minute of what I do.”
As Carol Ignacio speaks to the Hawaii Catholic Herald by phone from the Big Island Oct. 16, she reflects on a long, unique career of care and compassion. Ignacio, who has served in the diocesan Office for Social Ministry for 27 years under three bishops, will retire Nov. 1.
She has been the diocesan social ministry director for the last 19 years.
Famous for her boundless energy, candor and determination to help those in need, Ignacio has pioneered numerous grassroots initiatives to aid the hungry, the homeless, former prison inmates, the unemployed, and others on the fringes of society. She has also been honored and lauded many times over the years by government and community groups, raising the profile of Catholic social teaching in a secular world.
Prior to working for the diocese, Ignacio was a social worker who managed a nutrition center for senior citizens on her native Big Island. Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario hired her in 1986 to be the diocese’s first full-time Big Island social ministry coordinator. The new position had “no job description,” she said, allowing her the freedom “to create, to look and see what is really needed” for the poor in her area.
She helped open the island’s first homeless shelter in Hilo. Among her other outreach projects were the Hawaii Island Food Bank — now known as The Food Basket, Inc. — and the “Care-A-Van” program, through which social workers in vans delivered aid to the homeless hidden away on the beaches and byways around the Big Island.
Carol Ignacio, second from left, celebrates the opening of the West Hawaii Transitional Shelter in Kona in 2010 with staff from Hope Services, Hawaii. Photo courtesy Sally Lundburg/Mahi’ai Creative)
Ignacio’s efforts spurred the creation of the Kawaihae Transitional Housing shelter in 1992, as well as support and self-employment programs for workers left jobless with the closing of the Hamakua Sugar Company.
Parish-based outreach
In 1994, the diocese reorganized the Office for Social Ministry. Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo that year appointed Ignacio as its statewide director.
In a 1994 interview with the Hawaii Catholic Herald, she said the social ministry office would focus on finding “parish-based” ways to aid the needy. This complemented the “more technical, professional expertise” and “agency based” programs provided by Catholic Charities Hawaii.
Ignacio remained based primarily on the Big Island, running the only diocese-wide office outside of Honolulu. She traveled to Oahu and the other islands frequently.
Ignacio’s pace never slacked. In the latter years of her career, she continued to develop new community initiatives. These included the Mobile Care Health project on the Big Island and Maui; reintegration programs for former prison inmates; and a one-stop shelter in West Hawaii called “The Friendly Place.”
In 2010, the new diocesan agency HOPE Services Hawaii was created to oversee the programs Ignacio helped start on the Big Island.
The Office for Social Ministry continued its focus on parish and school outreach. One of Ignacio’s recent projects has been a push for more fresh, sustainable food in the diocese’s parish food pantries.
Seeing Jesus every day
Ignacio said she is grateful to have had the chance to put her spiritual gifts “into public action.” Although many people turn to the Office for Social Ministry for support, Ignacio said it is she who has been blessed by those she has been able to serve.
“What this work allows me to do is get in touch personally with people who would not normally be in my radar,” she said. “I thank God that I can see Jesus (in them) every day.”
Ignacio has aimed to emphasize to other Catholics the importance of charity as an expression of faith. Although “the social mission of the church is just as important as the Word and sacraments,” she said, it has sometimes been difficult getting parishioners to leave their pews and step into the community in service.
“A lot of work is getting that message across,” she said. “It’s tough to get pastors to form (outreach) teams.”
Visionary and practical
Nonetheless, Ignacio has inspired those who have been with her in outreach ministry. Bishop Larry Silva describes her as “a whirlwind of compassion” who exemplifies “the social teachings of the Catholic Church in such a dynamic way.”
“She is visionary and practical,” he said, “thinking as big as the heavens above and getting her hands dirty with the Lord’s work.”
Father Konelio “Lio” Faletoi worked with Ignacio on the Big Island for more than 20 years. Now pastor at St. Michael Parish in Kailua-Kona, Father Faletoi said Ignacio has been “instrumental” in guiding pastors and lay people to affect social change in their community.
“She has had a huge impact on the church,” Father Faletoi said. “God gave her gifts, and she really invested in these gifts of time, talent and treasure.”
Jerry Rauckhorst, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities Hawaii, said he and Ignacio have shared “a commitment to addressing the needs of those who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.”
“Carol’s life’s work has been fueled by her passion to lift the dignity of each person,” he said.
After almost three decades in church social ministry, and as she approaches her 70th birthday, Ignacio said she feels at peace with retiring. She said it was time to get back to her family on the Big Island — husband Deacon Lawrence Ignacio, three grown children and several grandchildren.
Her son is the owner of the successful 50’s Highway Fountain restaurant in Laupahoehoe. Ignacio will be helping him with operations as they open a secondlocation in Honokaa this month.
She also hopes to remain involved in community service during retirement.
Blessed Sacrament Father Bob Stark, who has worked with Ignacio in the Office for Social Ministry since 2010, will be the office’s new director beginning Nov. 1. Father Stark, currently the office’s resource developer and community organizer, has learned a lot about Hawaii’s social ministry needs under Ignacio’s tutelage.
“Carol has a beautiful way of touching folks, letting you know that God really loves you and everyone really does have something valuable to share,” he said. “I feel very blessed to minister with (her).”
“Plus she makes one super ono macnut pie,” Father Stark added.
Accomplishments and honors
Here are some of the community programs that retiring Office for Social Ministry director Carol Ignacio has played a part in developing. She has won several awards for these projects and her social ministry work.
Programs
- First homeless shelter in Hawaii County (with East Hawaii Coalition for the Homeless)
- West Hawaii Homeless Task Force
- Hawaii Island Food Bank (now The Food Basket, Inc.)
- Care-a-Van, Big Island
- Kawaihae transitional housing
- Support for displaced sugar workers in Hilo-Hamakua
- Mobile Care Health Project on Big Island and Maui
- Ponahawai Ola reentry program for inmates
- Beyond Shelter transitional housing
- The Friendly Place, West Hawaii
- Hope Services, Hawaii
- Ulu Wini housing, Kona
- Fresh Food Friday
Awards
- AIM for Excellence, Outstanding Achievement in Non-Profit Management, Weinberg Fellows, 1993-1995
- Weinberg Fellows Leadership Discovery Program for Executive Directors, 2001
- Hookele Award, Award for Excellence, Executive Director Not-for-Profit, 2004
- Richard Smart Community Leadership Award, 2004
- Zonta International Rose Leadership Award, 2004
- Hawaii Island Workforce and Economic Development Ohana (HIWEDO) Kaikena Award, 2012
- Athena Award, East Hawaii Businesswoman of the Year, 2012
