Chuukese teacher, catechist ordained in 2003
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Chuukese Deacon Luciano “Shiano” Pius, one of a group of Micronesian permanent deacons welcomed by Bishop Larry Silva over the past decade to serve in Hawaii, died on Jan. 14 at Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. He was 67 and a deacon for 13 years.
Deacon Pius came to Oahu in 2008 to be treated for diabetes, which ultimately prevented him from practicing his ministry the way he did in his native Chuuk village of Wonei. There he served as a catechist, baptized infants, presided over weddings and funerals, and regularly visited the sick.
Back in Chuuk, the deacon was a well known public school educator, serving several decades as a teacher and principal. He was also elected mayor of Wonei, serving from 1990 to 1998. As mayor, he was particularly dedicated to schools and education.
Pius was born on May 4, 1949, in Wonei on Tol, the largest island in Chuuk, one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia.
In 1970, he married Martina Suzuki. Upon graduating in 1972 he became a teacher at Peniata Elementary School in Wonei. He also attended the College of Micronesia in Chuuk.
Pius was named principal of the school in 1995, serving in that position until 2008. During his administration, the school’s name was changed to the Teruo Bokuku Memorial School, after his uncle, and was ranked one of the top 10 schools in the country.
When his older brother died in 1998, Pius took his place as a catechist at Assumption Church, his home parish.
He began studying to be a deacon in 2001 and was ordained in November 2003.
Deacon Pius was diagnosed with diabetes in 2004. He came to Honolulu on Dec. 6, 2008, for treatment.
He was a member of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace Parish where his wife serves as a eucharistic minister. After his arrival, Bishop Silva gave him faculties, or permission, to serve as a deacon in Hawaii, but his medical condition prevented him from receiving a formal assignment.
His daughter Maureen called her father “my hero” and “my best friend.”
“He was one of the bravest men I knew,” she told the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
He was very generous and energetic, she said, and naturally skilled in carpentry, mechanics, driving and other manual activities.
Maureen said her father also taught her “how to fish and swim.”
Deacon Pius and his wife Martina have five sons, Nelson, Nalson, Saver, Steve and Stanley; and four daughters, Merlin, Maureen, Melissa and Malinda.
Four of their children live on Guam, one lives in Chuuk, three in Hawaii and one on the Mainland.
They also have 39 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
The deacon’s funeral was scheduled for Feb. 9 at the cathedral. He will be buried in Chuuk.
Send condolences to Martina S. Pius, 1545 Linapuni St. Apt. 912-B, Honolulu, HI 96819.
