Jubilarians sing at the anniversary Mass May 11. From left, Sacred Hearts Sister Katherine Francis Miller and Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities Rose Annette Ahuna, Theresa Chow and Mary Edward Sukioka. (Photo courtesy of Dann Ebina)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Seventy years. Sixty years. Fifty years. Twenty-five years. Adding up the decades is how we feebly try to measure the immeasurable impact of the 33 Hawaii religious men and women and priests honored on the anniversaries of their religious commitment to God and humanity at a special morning Mass May 11 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.
It’s an impossible task, appraising these lives of discipleship, but Bishop Larry Silva came close in his homily.
He compared the jubilarians to the Apostle Peter raising a woman from the dead in the name of Jesus, the story told in the liturgy’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, expressively read by 60-year jubilarian Marianist Brother Frank Gomes.
The bishop listed examples of the jubilarians bringing “back to life” those suffering from the deaths of despair, ignorance, failure, adversity and discord with acts of love, sacrifice and compassion, in the name of Jesus.
“With joy and gratitude we gather to remember the gifts of our jubilarians,” Bishop Silva said.
“We are here to praise God for these servants who humbled themselves in order for God to be exalted,” he said.
Bishop Larry Silva presents a plaque to Sacred Hearts Father Thomas Choo who is celebrating 50 years as a priest. (Photo courtesy of Dann Ebina)
The Mass was celebrated in the joyful spirit of the Easter season, with lots of incense and bells, and songs ranging from Gregorian chant to a Taize hymn to Hawaiian-style compositions, all accompanied by the assertive organ playing of Robert Mondoy.
The co-cathedral was bedecked with bright tropical flower arrangements. Many of the jubilarians themselves were arrayed chin-high in leis.
The honored guests sat in the front pews, except for the priests who concelebrated the Mass with the bishop in the sanctuary, including an ailing Sacred Hearts Father Thomas Choo participating fully vested in a wheelchair. Six of the 33 honored did not attend.
After Communion, as the bishop called up each jubilarian to receive his congratulations and an engraved cut-glass plaque, the congregation gave polite applause. That is until it woke up to the exuberance of the event and began spontaneously cheering each honoree.
“This feels like graduation,” grinned Deacon Modesto Cordero, in between calling out the names.
The jubilarians themselves provided living evidence of a local vocation boom 60 and 70 years ago. Nearly all in the older categories were born and raised in Hawaii, the majority being Sisters of St. Francis, Sacred Hearts Sisters and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The younger jubilarians were mostly from the Philippines.
Bishop Silva honors Sister of St. Francis Ancilla Yim, who is marking 70 years of religious life. (Photo courtesy of Dann Ebina)
The 2019 jubilarians
70 Years
- Sister Rose Annette Ahuna, OSF
- Sister Theresa Chow, OSF
- Sister Mary Edward Sugioka, OSF
- Sister M. Ancilla Yim, OSF
60 Years
- Brother John Campbell, S.M.
- Sister Francine Costello, CSJ
- Sister Geraldine Ching, OSF
- Brother Frank (Paco) Gomes, S.M.
- Sister Norberta Hunnewinkel, OSF
- Father Christopher Keahi, SS.CC.
- Sister Jean Larm, CSJ
- Sister Katherine Francis Miller, SS.CC.
- Sister M. Agatha Perreira, OSF
- Sister Margaret Leonard Perreira, CSJ
- Sister Patricia Rapozo, OSF
- Sister Sara Sanders, CSJ
- Sister Beatrice Tom, OSF
50 Years
- Brother Daniel Casey, CFC
- Father Thomas Choo, SS.CC.
- Father Michel W. Dalton, OFM Cap
- Sister Anne Clare De Costa, SS.CC.
- Father Albert Gene Garcia, SS.CC.
- Father John Keenan, SSS
- Father Patrick Killilea, SS.CC.
- Sister M. Esther Pagdato, OP
- Father William Francis Petrie, SS.CC.
25 Years
- Father Constantino Atinaja Jr.
- Father Joseph Diaz
- Father Khanh S. Hoang
- Sister M. Novie Omictin, OP
- Father Francisco N. S. Sanchez
- Sister M. Ermelinda Tagnipez, OP
- Father Exsequel Tuyor
