Diocesan seminarians with Bishop Larry Silva and former vocations director Father Pascual Abaya at the June 7 diaconate ordination of Nick Brown, center. The seminarians are, from left, Emmanuelle del Castillo, Frankie Villanueva, Preston Castro, Dario Rinaldi, Ace Tui, Romple Emwalu, William Tulua, Anh Vu, Alfred Guerrero and E.J. Resinto. Missing is new seminarian Kevin Clark. (HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
This fall marks the start of a new semester of studies for 12 seminarians of the Diocese of Honolulu. The dozen men now preparing for the diocesan priesthood comprise one of the largest seminarian groups in Hawaii’s recent history.
The seminarians represent diverse ages and backgrounds. They are:
- Nick Brown, 48, of Honolulu
- Preston-Jay Castro, 20, of Waipahu
- Kevin Clark, 44, of Nanakuli
- Emmanuelle Del Castillo, 22, of Maui
- Romple Emwalu, 32, of Mililani
- Alfred Guerrero, 25, of Honolulu
- E.J. Resinto, 27, of Kauai
- Dario Rinaldi, 21, of Maui
- Ese’Ese “Ace” Tui, 29, of Ewa Beach
- William “Pila” Tulua, 51, of Honolulu
- Frank Villanueva, 34, of Wahiawa
- Vincent Anh Vu, 25, of Honolulu
Brown and Tulua are attending Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, an institution for older vocations, in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. In June Brown was ordained a “transitional” deacon, the last major step before priestly ordination, which is expected to take place next summer. Tulua is on track to complete his graduate studies in 2017.
Emwalu, Guerrero, Resinto and Vu are enrolled at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California. Resinto is expected to be ordained a transitional deacon in 2015. Guerrero is doing a “pastoral year” of parish work at St. Michael Church in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Vu is in his second year of graduate studies at the school, and Emwalu is entering his first graduate semester.
Del Castillo, Rinaldi, Tui and Villanueva are continuing their undergraduate courses at Mount Angel College Seminary in Oregon. Joining them are Castro and Clark, the diocese’s newest seminarians, who enrolled there in August.
Seminarians for the Diocese of Honolulu have steadily numbered 10 or more over the last four years. It is a welcome increase. The diocese has not seen a consistent double-digit number of men studying for the priesthood since the closing of St. Stephen Seminary on Oahu’s windward side decades ago.
Seminarian heyday and decline
Over the last 70 years, the ebb and flow in the number of seminarians in the Honolulu diocese has mirrored the nation’s decrease and increase in diocesan vocations.
In 1946, Bishop James Sweeney, the first bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu, bought the estate of landowner Harold Castle on the Kailua slope of the Nuuanu pali to open St. Stephen Seminary. There he sought to train local men for the diocesan priesthood in order to end the Islands’ dependence on missionary priests from Europe and the Mainland.
St. Stephen was run by a staff of Sulpician Fathers and initially admitted only high school students. Enrollment opened sluggishly with 14 seminarians, but grew to 30 by 1954.
The high school seminarians lived on campus, following a strict routine of classes, prayer, meals and recreation. Graduates continued their priestly formation on the Mainland.
St. Stephen added two years of college courses in 1955 following the accepted “6-6” formation system — four years of high school and two years of college at a “minor seminary,” then the final two years of college and four years of graduate school at a “major seminary.”
The growth of St. Stephen from the 1940s to the 1960s coincided with a national boom. During this period, the number of U.S. seminaries rose from 98 to 126. Nationwide enrollment surged to its highest point in 1964 at 48,992.
In 1964, St. Stephen had 70 high school and college seminarians.
Diocesan vocations dropped locally and nationally in the years that followed. In 1966, St. Stephen had 34 seminarians total.
The practice of seminarian education changed in the late 1960s to a “4-4-4” system: four years of high school, four years of undergraduate college and four years of graduate theology. Since then, however, nearly all of the country’s high school seminaries have closed.
St. Stephen Seminary in 1968 began to send its college students to Chaminade College of Honolulu for academics, while they resided at St. Stephen for community living and spiritual direction. Meanwhile, enrollment steadily declined.
St. Stephen shut down its high school in 1970. That year, the school had 18 college seminarians. At the same time, eight seminaries in the U.S. also closed and nationwide seminarian numbers plummeted by almost 20,000.
St. Stephen was closed completely in 1980. The U.S. had only 13,226 seminarians that year.
Modern day upswing
After St. Stephen closed, Hawaii’s priesthood prospects were sent to the Mainland for formation. Among the schools the diocese partnered with were the Theological College affiliated with the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and St. Francis Seminary in San Diego.
Diocesan vicar general Father Gary Secor, who served as the diocese’s vocations director in the 1980s and later at the turn of the millennium, said the number of seminarians during that time was sparse.
He said an upswing in numbers came in the mid-2000s. The diocese then began sending its undergraduate students to Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon and, as the need arose, the Wisconsin school for older vocations.
The diocese has kept its ties with St. Patrick Seminary in California, where it has been sending seminarians for graduate studies since the 1940s.
Although local seminarian numbers today aren’t nearly what they were in their heyday, the increase mirrors again an upward trend across the U.S.
Data from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA, at Georgetown University shows that there were 3,631 graduate-level seminarians in the U.S. in 2014. That is up almost 150 from the figures reported in 2010, and roughly 450 more than in 1995.
Though no longer vocations director for the diocese, Father Secor said he has sensed an increasing interest in the priesthood as he works with young adults.
“I think young people have always been interested in serving God,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of openness” to the calling for diocesan priests.
Father Secor attributes “a number of factors” to this increase in vocations. Many young people today are delaying major life commitments, he said, but are more open to exploring different callings. Some men consider the priesthood after finding that they can live happy, fulfilled lives as single Christians.
The lingering influence of St. John Paul II could also be attributed to the rising interest in the priesthood, Father Secor said. Attending World Youth Day and other papal events often inspire young men to pursue a vocation.
The Catholic Church has had its share of challenges and scandals, Father Secor said, but it is heartening that despite “bad press, people are still interested” in becoming priests.
A long way to go
The increase in seminarians is a positive step for the American Catholic Church, but according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, there is a long way to go to meet the demand for more diocesan priests.
In 2010, 402 diocesan priests were ordained in the U.S, hardly enough to cover the shortfall caused by priests dying, retiring or departing the priesthood annually, CARA notes. To make up the losses, U.S. dioceses continue to bring in priests from other countries.
“The challenge remains,” the CARA report explained, “because the church doesn’t just need stability, it needs growth to keep up with a growing Catholic population and an aging clergy.”
The Diocese of Honolulu is continuing to foster a culture of vocations. Bishop Larry Silva appointed Father Bill Shannon, who retired this year from full-time parish work, as the new “director of seminarians” in July. He will be keeping track of seminarians’ formation. He plans to visit Mount Angel Seminary, Sacred Heart School of Theology and St. Patrick Seminary in the coming months.
In addition to diocesan seminarians, several young men from Hawaii are currently in formation for religious life with the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The order has three novices now undergoing formation at their provincial house in Kaneohe.
Father Secor, who grew up in Hawaii, encourages young men to look into the priesthood. It offers an enriching experience, he said, with a variety of work and ways to share God’s love with others.
“If you want to serve God and the people of Hawaii, this is the best option,” he said.
