Hyun Soon Han Maerki and her daughter Su Jung.(HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
On April 4, 200 catechumens will be baptized, confirmed and receive First Eucharist during Easter Vigil services across Hawaii. While the faith journey of each catechumen is unique, behind every one of them is the love and support of catechists, parishioners, friends and relatives.
As Pope Francis this year underscores the vital role of the family in evangelization, it is fitting that many of Hawaii’s soon-to-be-Catholics were inspired to conversion by loving familial relationships.
Here are two stories of people being drawn to the Catholic faith through the example and devotion of loved ones.
‘It’s time’
Bernhard “Bernie” Wonneberger
Bernhard “Bernie” Wonneberger is one of three catechumens who will be baptized this year at Holy Trinity Church in Kuliouou.
Wonneberger is originally from Chicago. He began traveling regularly to the Islands in 2000 for his work in architecture and engineering. He moved here with his wife Marla and their son in 2004, first living in Waikele before finding a home in their present east Honolulu parish.
Wonneberger, 53, has long admired his spouse’s Catholic faith. Marla, a Filipina, attended Catholic schools “from kindergarten to college,” she told the Hawaii Catholic Herald March 18 at Holy Trinity Church as the couple waited for Bernie’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults evening class to begin.
The Wonnebergers were married nearly 27 years ago in a Catholic ceremony. Since then, Bernie has regularly attended Masses with Marla and their now 18-year-old son. Bernie has appreciated Catholic rituals and teachings for decades. Late last year he felt the call to conversion.
“After being in the Masses, talking with the people and so forth, I became very interested in finally doing the RCIA and becoming Catholic,” he said. “Marla and I were saying, ‘It’s time.’”
Since his youth, Bernie had an interest in religion and he said that members of his family, who are not Catholic, remain religious. He therefore grew up familiar with Scripture and prayers such as the Our Father.
He acknowledged that one God has connected his experience of different faiths.
“A lot of the underlying philosophies (of Catholicism) are very similar to what I grew up with,” Bernie said. For example, that “we are all made in God’s image and likeness.”
Bernie, intellectual and articulate, has enjoyed his conversations about faith with his RCIA catechists, Deacon Dan Guinaugh and his wife Rita. Their weekly meetings have enriched Bernie’s understanding of Catholic practices and beliefs.
With a smile and a spark in his eyes, Bernie cracked open his green catechism book to share things he has learned.
“The Bible, Ten Commandments, prayer, seven lessons of the Our Father, the faith professed, the faith celebrated, etc.,” he said, leafing through the book. “It’s been very helpful going through the RCIA program because I’ve been learning about what I’ve been seeing — why (Catholics) do what is being done during the services.”
Bernie said that Catholic “spirituality” means a lot to him now. The Holy Trinity, the Sign of the Cross and the “spiritual journey from birth to death and beyond” are facets of the faith that have impacted him most.
Becoming a Catholic, Bernie said, has been “exciting” for him and his family. Conversion not only has fostered his relationship with Christ and the church, but has enriched his bond with Marla as well.
“I’m looking forward to finally being at one even more so with my wife than just the sacrament of marriage,” Bernie said.
In addition to being baptized, Bernie will receive the sacrament of confirmation and first Eucharist. It will be a wonderful culmination of his RCIA journey, he said, to join his wife and parish ohana in Communion.
“I’d like to participate (in the church) even more so now than I did before,” Bernie said.
The catechumen has already been finding ways to serve his parish. With training in architecture and engineering, Bernie has met the Holy Trinity maintenance committee and is eager to lend his skills to the team.
Deacon Guinaugh said Bernie has “soared” in spirit since entering the RCIA program. The deacon praised him for being “a focused reader” and asking “questions that penetrate the core of our faith.”
“He is ready to embrace the baptismal waters at our Easter Vigil,” Deacon Guinaugh said.
‘It’s better this way’
Hyun Soon Han Maerki, 60, and her 17-year-old daughter Su Jung will become new members of the Catholic community in Salt Lake when they are baptized April 4 at St. Philomena parish.
Hyun is originally from Korea, where she met Su Jung’s father, who is a Catholic. The couple has been married almost 35 years. Su Jung, their only child, was born and raised in Hawaii.
Su Jung explained March 19 at St. Philomena Church that her father recently began bringing the family to Mass there. They reside a few minutes away. Roughly a year ago, her father spoke with pastor Father Peter Miti about the RCIA program.
“My dad saw this church as a great opportunity for us to actually join the Catholic community,” Su Jung said. “We used to go to church, but then I guess we stopped for some reason. Now we’re just trying to actually get back into it.”
Hyun Maerki said her husband — who was unable to be interviewed due to illness — had attended St. Mary University, a Marianist institution in Texas. He often mentioned the word “Catholic” to Hyun as they raised their daughter.
Hyun said they went to Mass a few times together when Su Jung was a little girl, but never really found a church that was right for them. When they discovered St. Philomena, the conversion journey began.
“My husband wants us to be Catholic so that way we can go as a family here,” the soft-spoken Hyun said. “It’s better this way.”
Su Jung is a student at St. Andrew’s Priory. She said she was baptized and received Communion at the Episcopal school. The Maerkis’ RCIA instructor Naomi Ferreira explained, however, that no record could be found of Su Jung’s Episcopal sacraments. The teen will therefore be baptized a Catholic and receive the sacraments of Eucharist and confirmation alongside her mother on Easter Vigil.
Su Jung, a bright and gracious youth, said she has “always had faith in God.” Her faith has partly been developed through the weekly chapel services she attends at St. Andrew’s Priory. Su Jung said her spirituality has also been influenced by the devotion of her father and her RCIA lessons.
She isn’t nervous about the big step to Catholicism. Rather it is a perfect time, Su Jung said, for her and her mother to make whole the family’s faith.
“I guess now is the actual opportunity that was like, called for us to go,” she said.
The Maerkis have been meeting with catechist Ferreira every other week since August. Korean is Hyun’s first language, and she admits it takes her a little longer to comprehend the concepts taught in English. She nonetheless has learned a lot about what it means to be Catholic.
Hyun said she’s become “more calmed down” since finding a new faith. She hopes to someday look into the Masses and ministries of the Korean Catholic Community that gathers in Manoa.
Su Jung has found it challenging to incorporate RCIA into her busy schedule of school and work. But she has tried her best to deeply take in the formation journey.
When asked what she has appreciated most about the Catholic faith, Su Jung responded its practicality and openness.
“On Good Friday, they pray not only for Catholics but for other religions,” she said.
Su Jung noted that her father is glad the RCIA program has made a profound impact on the women of his family.
“He didn’t want us to be forced into doing it,” she said. “Since we actually enjoy it, he’s really happy about that.”
Ferreira has developed a good relationship with the Maerkis over the past few months. It has been heartwarming, she said, to see them blossom as parishioners and as a loving family quietly working through daily life.
“Getting to know them as people has been very helpful,” Ferreira said. “I think they’ve grown in the sense that in the beginning they were more quiet. I kind of see a light in their eyes, which is really just gratifying.”
Su Jung feels that others who are on the fringes of the faith, as she and her mother were, will find the journey to conversion gratifying as well. She said there is no reason to fear making a commitment to join — or re-join — the church.
She shared the story of a friend who has not been going to her school chapel services in a while. Su Jung, through gentle words, has been letting her friend know that God will always be there with a warm, unconditional welcome no matter how long one has been out of his reach.
“I’ll always help her and be like, ‘you should do it,’” Su Jung said. “I kind of support her in a way to encourage her to go up (to chapel), to not be afraid of feeling uncomfortable, even if you haven’t gone in a long time.”
Just don’t be afraid, Su Jung repeated.
