Bishop Larry Silva is asking Hawaii parishes to commemorate the 190th anniversary of the introduction of Catholicism in Hawaii on Sunday, July 9.
That was the day 190 years ago — the feast day of Our Lady of Peace — that the first Catholic missionaries, members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, stepped foot in Hawaii.
Being a Sunday, the Feast of Our Lady of Peace will be celebrated only at its namesake Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. Other parishes, however, are encouraged to mark this “momentous anniversary” in some “special way” at their regular Sunday Masses.
The bishop suggested that homilists “take the opportunity to emphasize the missionary nature of the church and to encourage parishioners to take the Gospel out to their families, their schools, their places of work, and to the public square.”
The Office of Worship has also distributed to parishes two suggested Prayers of the Faithful which refer to the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries 190 years ago as a reminder of the “great mission” to spread the Gospel, and as an occasion to pray for religious vocations.