Hawaii’s Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians at their convent in Waimalu, from left, Sister Marykutty Kottuppallil, Sister Meristella Umdor and Sister Ruth Zonunthari. (HCH photo | Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP)
The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians, an India-based congregation that has served in Hawaii since 2008, have established themselves officially in the Diocese of Honolulu.
In a document dated Oct. 16, the superior general of the order decreed “the erection of a canonical house” in Aiea, Oahu. The residence is home to three sisters.
According to diocesan judicial vicar Father Mark Gantley, “having a canonical house in the diocese authorizes the sisters to live [here] in accord with the character and purposes of their religious institute on a perpetual basis and to carry out the apostolic works proper to the religious institute.”
In other words, the congregation itself “has a footprint in the diocese,” he said, not just the sisters who happen to be living here now. It is the order’s first permanent convent in the U.S.
The sisters’ house is at 98-218 Kanuku Street, Aiea, in a residential neighborhood in the Waimalu area. Living there are Sister Marykutty Kottuppallil, Sister Meristella Umdor and Sister Ruth Zonunthari.
Sister Ruth, who is the superior of the group, said her congregation welcomes the new status.
“This is a more stable situation than just being here at the invitation of a pastor or parish,” she said.
It will allow the sisters to expand their mission in Hawaii, she said.
Sister Ruth said the order will “definitely” send more sisters if enough money can be raise to support them, if there is work for them to do and if there are no visa difficulties. She said her order usually requires communities of six sisters, though Hawaii is a different situation.
According to the decree, signed by Sister Philomena Mathew in Guwahati, Assam, India, the order’s general council governing body gave its consent for the canonical house on Sept. 24 and Bishop Larry Silva gave his permission on Sept. 29.
Retired Italian priest Msgr. Franco Troi on Aug. 26 blessed the new residence, which is named Bishop Stephen Ferrando Convent after the founder of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians.
“History is being made here, and we should all remember this day,” Msgr. Troi said at the blessing, “for who but God knows what he has in store for these wonderful servants?”
On Aug. 12, the sisters also set up the Hawaii nonprofit corporation, Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians of America, allowing them to transact business in the United States.
The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians was founded in Guwahati, Assam, in northeast India in 1942 to address the physical, spiritual and educational needs of those displaced during World War II.
In 2008, the sisters were invited to St. Joseph Parish, Hilo, to engage in pastoral work, education and social ministry. They moved to Oahu in 2011 to St. Elizabeth Parish, Aiea, where two sisters continue in social and pastoral ministry and one now works in pastoral outreach and hospice care.
The order’s first Hawaii vocation, Lucinda Salboro from St. Joseph Church, Hilo, will make her first profession of vows on Dec. 8 in Bongaigaon, India.
The Missionary Sisters has five provinces in India and a delegation in Italy. Its 1,078 members belong to 53 ethnic groups and work in 179 centers in India, 10 in Italy, two in South Africa, one in Sudan and one in Hawaii.
GARAGE SALE
Support the ministries around the world of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians.
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 15
- Time: 7 a.m. 1 p.m.
- Place: 98-218 Kanuku Street, Aiea
- For sale: furniture, kitchenware, antiques, baked goods, lots more
