By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald
Almost half of the priests manning Hawaii’s Catholic parishes come from foreign countries according to the 2017 Directory of the Catholic Church in Hawaii.
There are 120 priests in active ministry in the Islands. They include 34 who belong to the Diocese of Honolulu, 33 from outside, mostly foreign, dioceses, and 53 from 10 religious orders. About half of the religious order priests are from foreign countries, mostly the Philippines. Six order priests also come from India.
A diocesan priest is a clergyman from a diocese, a geographical area run by a diocesan bishop. Priests in Hawaii from other dioceses are here generally on temporary assignments with the permission of their home bishops.
Religious order priests, such as the La Salette Fathers and the Jesuits, are groups of men, often international, living in a community, answering a specific charism or mission.
Of the priests here from outside dioceses, 22 priests come from 11 dioceses in the Philippines, four priests are from Latin American dioceses, three come from Africa, three are from Mainland dioceses and one is from a diocese in Korea.
The Diocese of Honolulu also has five of its priests working outside of Hawaii.
Hawaii’s list of retired diocesan priests has crept to an all-time high of 21, up two from last year.
Hawaii has nearly the same number of active priests it had 10 years ago, although then there were 10 fewer diocesan priests and about 13 more religious order priests.
Over the past decade, ordinations and incardinations resulted in a gain of five priests for the Diocese of Honolulu while increased recruitment from foreign and Mainland dioceses added another five priests to Island parishes. Deaths, retirements and reassignments were the causes for a 20 percent drop in religious order priests over the same time period.
There are 44 active permanent deacons listed for the Diocese of Honolulu and nine more from other dioceses. An additional 17 are retired. Ten years ago Hawaii had 46 permanent deacons, all belonging to the Honolulu diocese.
The 2017 directory also lists 150 religious sisters, both working and retired, in 16 congregations living in Hawaii, down 37, or 20 percent, from the 187 total of a decade ago.
This year’s directory also lists 25 active and retired religious brothers, down from 33 in 2007.
The directory has listings for 66 parishes, 25 missions, 11 ethnic ministries, 15 preschools, 21 elementary schools, eight high schools and one Catholic university.
Twenty-one diocesan departments are listed. The directory also lists 20 associations of the faithful, which are mostly lay organizations such as the Legion of Mary and the Knights of Columbus.
The 68-page directory is available for purchase from the Hawaii Catholic Herald office. Copies are $20 each, plus postage. Call 585-3321 to order one.
