By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
With this year’s new clergy appointments, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts takes over the administration of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pearl City and hands back to the diocese the pastoral care of St. Michael Parish, Waialua, and Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Wahiawa.
The moves were made, said Father Herman Gomes, provincial superior of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in the United States, because the congregation’s governing council wanted its members live “the common life,” sharing work and prayer in community.
Father Gomes said that community living was nearly impossible with the two one-man parishes, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Michael. The two pastors tried living together, he said, but the need to also be available at their own parishes, which are 10 miles apart, proved to be too difficult.
So two months ago, Father Gomes proposed to Bishop Larry Silva a swap: the two small rural parishes for the bigger one in Pearl City.
The Sacred Hearts priest said he was “stunned” by the swiftness of the response. In less than two weeks, the bishop agreed and already had two men lined up to take over the parishes.
On July 1 Our Lady of Good Counsel will get as pastor Sacred Hearts Father Santhosh Thottankara, now a parochial vicar at St. Patrick Parish, Kaimuki, and Sacred Hearts Father Joseph Pasala of St. Michael as parochial vicar.
In the works to replace Father Thottankara at St. Patrick is another priest from India, pending visa approval.
The new administrators of Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Michael, respectively, will be Father Falaniko Atonio of the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago and Father Ernesto Juarez of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, Philippines.
The current pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, Sacred Hearts Father Ajith K. Antony Dass, has been appointed the new superior of the Sacred Hearts Congregation in India, which is a region of the Sacred Hearts’ U.S. province.
It is a small region with 21 men in three parishes and in formation, plus seven priests working outside of India.
In Hawaii, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts also administers St. Patrick Parish, St. Augustine in Waikiki, St. Ann Parish in Kaneohe and both parishes on Molokai, St. Damien in Kaunakakai and St. Francis in Kalaupapa.