The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet fill four pews in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa Aug. 25 during the celebration of the congregation’s 80th year in Hawaii. (HCH photos | Dann Ebina)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Joyfully compelled by the love of their religious calling, 20 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet took their chances with a hurricane to celebrate with friends their community’s 80 years of service to Hawaii Aug. 25 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Brenda Lau speaks to the congregation in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa Aug. 25 during the celebration of her order’s 80th anniversary in Hawaii. (HCH photos | Dann Ebina)
The large church was remarkably half filled that morning, considering that earlier the city had been practically shut down by officials warning of the looming Hurricane Lane, a serious storm that had already demonstrated its destructive capabilities on the Big Island.
Joining the Hawaii sisters were 20 more Sisters of St. Joseph visiting from the Mainland — those whose flights had not been canceled by the storm — some of whom had once worked in Hawaii, including Sister Marie Gertrude Roldan, Sister Angela Faustina and Sister Rosemarie Montoya.
The rest of the assembly included friends, former students, colleagues, and members of the Sisters of St. Francis, the Dominicans of the Most Holy Rosary, the Marianists, the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, the Maryknoll Sisters, the Christian Brothers and others.
Bishop Larry Silva celebrated the Mass.
“Thanks be to God, we are all here!” he said, welcoming the assembly with an expression of relief.
Bishop Larry Silva holds a calabash made of wood from Hawaii’s first kiawe tree during his homily. (HCH photos | Dann Ebina)
The Sisters of St. Joseph, all wearing purple lei, filled four front pews.
Older now, with most of their lives of ministry behind them, the “daughters of St. Joseph” cheerfully celebrated “the great love of God,” the theme of the liturgy expressed in the hymns, the readings and the music video at the close of Mass, “Love Changes Everything.”
Bishop Silva started his homily with a “show-and-tell.”
Holding a small, dark, wooden calabash that he said was carved from the wood of Hawaii’s first algaroba tree planted by the first Catholic missionaries to the Islands, he compared that tree to the first Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to come to Hawaii.
Commonly known in Hawaii as the kiawe tree, the algaroba is now abundant throughout the state.
“As you planted the seed of love in the hearts of those you served,” he said, “it has propagated and spread throughout the islands.”
“We thank you for all you have done and will continue to do,” the bishop said.
“The original algaroba tree is no longer here, but that doesn’t matter,” Bishop Silva said.
“The important thing is to remember the fruits of your work,” he said, “how many people you have touched, how your love has propagated because you planted the seed of devotion and love of God.”
Concelebrating the Mass were 13 priests, at least three of whom were products of Carondelet classrooms.
The evening before, as the rest of Oahu was hunkering down for the big one, the sisters were preparing the parish hall for the reception, decorating the tables with flower arrangements and placemats woven of multicolored construction paper.
They were also praying for a calming of the storm bearing down on Oahu.
One of the sisters said she prayed to all the deceased Carondelet Sisters who had previously served in Hawaii, knowing they would understand the gravity of the situation. Besides, it was their anniversary too.
Their prayers were answered. With hours to spare, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm, then stalled and fizzled. The skies remained gray, but the breezes were gentle and it didn’t rain.
The reception in the hall offered lots of food plus videos of the sisters’ work in Hawaii. The sisters closed the celebration by singing together “May the Spirit of St. Joseph” and the Alfred Apaka classic, “Aloha Means.”
The first nine Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet came to Hawaii on Aug. 24, 1938, to staff St. Theresa School at the same place the anniversary was celebrated.
Coming first as school teachers, their ministries expanded over the years to include diocesan administration and parish work, service to the poor and elderly, religious education, missions to South America, Asia and Africa, and much more.
More than 170 sisters from four Mainland provinces have served in Hawaii. The congregation also produced 57 Hawaii vocations.
Soon to be the newest member, Kristina DeNeve, the Diocese of Honolulu’s Office of Religious Education coordinator for adult faith formation and evangelization since 2013, plans to join the Carondelet community on the Mainland later this year.
Bishop Silva recognized her at the Mass with a short prayer: “May God’s blessing be upon her as she enters into that journey.”
