St. Pius X Church, Manoa
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
After nearly 20 years together, two clustered parishes in East Honolulu will once again have their own “pastoral leaders.” Sacred Heart Parish in the Punahou neighborhood and St. Pius X Parish in Manoa will be un-linked on Jan. 1.
Bishop Larry Silva made the announcement in a Nov. 6 letter to the two parishes, known collectively as the Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community.
“The major reason I have decided to decluster the two parishes is so that the parishioners will have their own priest to care for their pastoral needs and to lead them in dedication to their mission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus in their families, places of work, schools, and neighborhoods,” Bishop Silva wrote.
Sacred Heart Church, Punahou
Silva added that the declustering will better serve the two churches as well as Maryknoll School, which is part of Sacred Heart Parish, and the Korean Catholic Community, which is based at St. Pius X.
The split “will allow the Sacred Heart parish priest to give more attention to the school without having to deal with the complexity of another parish and an ethnic community,” he said. “The important work that is done at both parishes can be enhanced when each one has its own pastoral leader.”
The declustering coincides with the retirement of the Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community’s shared pastor, Father Gordian Carvalho, who has been in the assignment since 2007.
Sacred Heart’s new pastor will be Father EJ Resinto. St. Pius X’s administrator will be Father Thomas Joseph. Both priests are now parochial vicars for the Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community. The Korean Catholic Community’s chaplain is Father Young Kun Kim.
Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo had joined the two parishes in 1999. The clustering meant that each parish remained open but shared the same pastor and resources.
Under Bishop DiLorenzo nine pairs of neighboring parishes were clustered due to clergy shortages. After the Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community separates, only two pairs of clustered communities remain, both on the Big Island. Sacred Heart Parish, Naalehu, and Holy Rosary Parish, Pahala, are clustered on Hawaii Island’s southeastern coast. St. Anthony Parish, Papaaloa, and Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Papaikou, are clustered on the northeast side of the island.
Bishop Silva had put together a diocesan staff group earlier this year to explore the idea of declustering St. Pius X and Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart became a parish in 1883. St. Pius X Parish grew out of Sacred Heart Parish in 1958 due to a growing number of Catholics in Manoa valley.
“As with all parishes who are neighbors, I hope that there will be continued collaboration between the two parishes, sharing resources when that is appropriate, and working together as separate but equal partners,” Bishop Silva added in his announcement.
