Celebrating a century in Hilo

Hilo’s landmark St. Joseph Church marks 100 years with Mass, a salute to marriages, and a party

By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald

HILO — While St. Joseph Parish in Hilo is more than a century old, its striking pale pink and cream Spanish baroque-style church was dedicated in 1919. To mark that milestone, parishioners at St. Joe’s, as it’s affectionately known, threw a weekend-long centennial celebration March 22-24.

It started with a multi-choir concert on Friday night. Saturday midday, Bishop Larry Silva presided over a validation wedding ceremony for eight couples with previous civil marriages. A reception with cakes for each pair followed.

But the big event came on March 24, when people packed into St. Joseph for the 11 a.m. Mass, filling every pew downstairs and in the choir loft. Latecomers had to be satisfied standing in the back and by the doors.

In his homily, Bishop Silva talked about how St. Joseph was built to be “a sacred place where God would encounter his people.”

“Fire blazed in this church, not to destroy it but to fill it with God’s love,” Bishop Silva said. “So we are here to celebrate not just the 100 years.

“We are here to remember that here God is on fire with love for us,” he added, and that he wants parishioners to “spread that love beyond the church’s walls.”

God’s love is a “conflagration that will not stay here but go out to all the world.”

At the end of the two-hour Mass, there was a Hawaiian chant and many special recognitions. Bishop Silva presented the parish with a framed papal apostolic blessing acknowledging the church’s centennial. He recognized the church’s “super volunteer” Island Treasurers honorees, and gave a plaque to St. Joseph parishioner Margarita Hopkins, a longtime Diocesan Planning and Building Commission member who recently retired.

Although it had been raining on and off in Hilo since the previous evening, the showers stopped before members of the Knights of Columbus carried out the parish’s statue of St. Joseph with Bishop Silva, parish and visiting priests and parishioners processing behind them.

So much food

The statue came to rest on a special platform next to a covered stage. Several large white tents and many long tables with chairs were set up nearby, ready for the festivities. Bishop incensed the St. Joseph statue before a blessing of the food that was ready to be served.

Table after table held pancit, kalua pig and cabbage, chicken long rice, peanut soup, fried chicken, hot dogs, lechon, taro, Portuguese bean soup and sweet bread, poke, sushi, spam musubi and much, much more. No one was going hungry at this centennial fiesta.

And while the two food lines were long, the well-prepared food committee volunteers kept it coming. There was music, a bouncy house, door prizes and dancing.

St. Joseph volunteers also were selling a parish centennial book, bright blue centennial T-shirts, aprons, pickled and fresh produce, and ice pops.

Standing in line for food, Encarnation Evangelista and her son Alfred said they were excited to be a part of the centennial celebrations.

Encarnation has been a part of the parish for 20 years, sang in the choir for many years and says St. Joseph feels like a family to her.

“Even when I haven’t been to church in awhile, people will come up to me and ask ‘How have you been? We haven’t seen you!’” she said.

Celebrating good times

St. Joseph’s pastor, Blessed Sacrament Father Wilbert Laroga, wanted to showcase marriage and family during the centennial celebrations, according to Rose Nunogawa, who helped coordinate the weekend’s marriage events.

So on March 23 there were marriage validations by Bishop Silva. And at the 5 p.m. Mass that same day, Father Laroga presided over a marriage vows renewal ceremony for 36 couples who had been married between one and 61 years.

He focused his homily on matrimony, saying “our home, our family is the basic foundation of our faith.”

Father Laroga said that in a good marriage, “there is always a sense of forgiveness.”

“If there is no forgiveness, I don’t think we survive!”

He also drew an analogy between St. Joseph Church and the fig tree Jesus uses in a parable in that weekend’s Gospel reading.

“We learn from this church and this church bears much fruit,” Father Laroga said.

A reception was held after Mass for the anniversary couples with tables decorated as if for a wedding reception. Candles, flowers, bottles of Martinelli’s cider and table cards with couples’ names decorated tables. There was a sheet cake with the words “Blessings to All” and two whole pigs for the main course.

While they ate, several of the couples shared their marriage secrets with the Hawaii Catholic Herald.

Zacarias and Lucia Abregano led the group with the longest marriage at 61 years. The pair will celebrate 62 years in April. Although he is 88 and she is 81 they look much younger. Perhaps praying together every night has helped the couple, who first met while both working at the Barbers Point cafeteria. They have two sons, one granddaughter and a great-grandson.

“Love, forgiveness and trust” are what you need in marriage, Lucia said, plus “no fooling around!”

Brought us full circle

Patrick and Eileen Pavao were another anniversary couple. They married 50 years ago at Schofield Barracks right before Patrick deployed to Vietnam.

“We always wished we could get married at St. Joseph,” Patrick said. “Going to this [vow renewal] service has brought us full circle.”

“You have to let God in” to your marriage, said Eileen. “It helps us get through the tough times and makes us really appreciate the good times.”

“When I was in Vietnam, I prayed, ‘God if you bring me back alive I will do your work,’” Patrick said. Both he and Eileen have been lectors at the parish, eucharistic and hospital ministers, and Patrick was a previous development director.

“Because of God’s love for us, he’s kept us together all these years.”

Twenty-four years ago Alfred and Margarita Ignacio got married at St. Joseph. When asked about their secret to a long-lasting marriage, Alfred said with a chuckle, “For me, it’s patience.”

He gave the example that Margarita changed what color she wanted the pair to wear several times before settling on purple for their color-coordinated outfits.

Sitting with them were two of their four daughters, Nicole, 20, and Taylor, 23. They laughed at their dad’s response as did Margarita, who said that, for her, marriage is about a give and take. “We can’t always have what we want.”

Newlyweds Istor and Sherlyn Naich have been married two years and are active members in the Chuukese community at St. Joseph. Istor translates at the weddings of other Chuukese couples who might have language barriers. They say St. Joseph is a welcoming parish.

The Naiches wanted to renew their vows to “keep their relationship strong.”

For Ralph and Nida Santiago, the March 23 vow renewal ceremony had perfect timing since their 37th anniversary fell on the day prior. The pair said love, respect and caring for each other are at the core of their marriage.

Dominador and Vivian Coloma have been married 57 years. The couple wore matching burgundy clothes and sat with Ronald De Lima, whose wife, Betty Lou, was ill and unable to attend the vow renewals. The De Limas have also been married 57 years.

Among the Colomas’ advice was not to pay attention to arguments. “There’s always compromise.” And to “trust in the lord and listen to what he says and it works out.”

The pair were excited to be renewing their vows and celebrating their parish’s centennial.

“We’re just proud to be members of St. Joseph Church,” Vivian said.

“Not everybody can say they celebrated the 100th anniversary,” Dominador said.