Ese’ese “Ace Tui (Photo courtesy of St. Patrick Seminary and University)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The coronavirus. The lockdown. The change of venue. The rescheduling. The social distancing. The livestreaming. “All of this will be a part of my story,” said Ese’ese “Ace” Tui, whom Bishop Larry Silva will ordain a transitional deacon June 13, after a month’s delay, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Ewa Beach, his home parish.
“When bishop and I were looking at a date, I was hoping he would choose one toward the end of June. When he said, “What about June 13?” what came to my mind was, “In two weeks?”
Tui was hesitant but agreed. “It didn’t really hit me until the following day, and it was a bit overwhelming,” he said.
Tui’s ordination to the diaconate, “transitional” because it is a step before priestly ordination, had been scheduled for May 15 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, the final day of the annual priests’ convocation when ordinations in Hawaii are traditionally held.
With the convocation canceled it was moved to the church in Ewa Beach and then postponed because of strict limits on the number of people who could attend.
The event was rescheduled after churches were reopened for public services with social distancing requirements.
Anyone wanting to attend the ordination should contact the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish office at 808-689-8681. The ordination will be live-streamed at facebook.com/olphparishewabeach.
Born and raised in Faga’alu, American Samoa, Tui is the oldest born of the late Siamani Kelemete Tui Faatiliga and Miriama Tasi Toleafoa Aumaivao Tui.
He has three brothers, Sanele, Valoaga and Siamani Jr., and one sister Tilomai. He attended Samoana High School in Utulei, American Samoa. He then studied computer science at Remington College for two years.
In 2006, he moved to Hawaii where he has extended family.
He entered Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon to study for the priesthood, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and philosophy.
He has one more year of theological studies at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, before he is ordained a priest.
The future priest described his interests to the Hawaii Catholic Herald by email.
“As any island boy, I enjoy spending quality time with family and friends,” he said.
Tui grew up with a love of singing and music, though he never learned how to play an instrument, he said. “We would just sit at home and sing old school Samoan songs at random.
Since he entered the seminary he has grown to love reading, “mostly spiritual reading,” he said.
Ace explains his nickname
I got the name when I was little and growing up in American Samoa. On Saturdays, two of my cousins and I would prepare the “umu” (“imu” in Hawaii) for Sunday. We would get banana leaves, taro, prepare the rocks, wood, everything needed for the umu. Afterward, we would sit and just laugh and tell jokes and stories.
One Saturday, one of my older cousins from the Mainland said, “Ese’ese, we need to change your name? Ese’ese is too long to say.” He thought for a bit and then he said, “ACE! We should call you ACE!” (If only it were like the story of Jesus changing Simon’s name to Peter, but it isn’t.)
My two cousins liked it and I liked it, so they started calling me “Ace” around family, and family and friends picked it up. So outside of my family people know me as “Ace” but within my family they still know me as Ese’ese.
Samoans like to shorten people’s names or give them nicknames. Don’t ask me why.
