Father William Kunisch stands in front of the site of a future columbarium wall for Resurrection of the Lord Parish, Waipio. Planning for a structure of 350 niches has been put on hold pending the end of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Resurrection of the Lord Parish, Waipio)
Diocese plans to introduce ‘a wonderful program’ that will provide a ‘continuum of spiritual care, allowing multi-generations to be laid to rest together in their chosen place of worship
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
A long time ago, Catholics in Hawaii were buried in the graveyard of the parish where they were baptized, their Christian life having come full circle. But as churches closed and their cemeteries filled, the job of burials was given to large commercial memorial parks.
The committal of one’s remains may once again return to the parish thanks to the passage of a bill signed into law Sept. 15 by Gov. David Ige, which allows religious institutions in Hawaii to build and maintain on their property columbaria, structures such as a wall, room or building for the keeping of cremated remains.
“It is with great joy that I announce to you the passage of Act 022 (20)!” Bishop Larry Silva wrote to Hawaii pastors Sept. 15.
“Act 022 (20) amends Hawaii’s current law regarding cemetery and funeral trusts to allow non-profit religious institutions to feasibly construct and properly manage a columbarium within their property or place of worship by providing niches to members,” the bishop said.
He told the pastors that the diocese would have in place by the first quarter of next year “a wonderful program” for parishes to implement “to provide a quality continuum of spiritual care for your parishioners, while allowing multi-generational families to be laid to rest together and cared for in their chosen place of worship.”
Bishop Silva said that the diocese’s endorsement of the new law was based on “our collective desire and commitment to care for the afterlife needs” of parishioners.
A columbarium will also “help prevent local families from incurring financial and emotional hardship in caring for their loved ones in their afterlife,” he said. It could also provide income to the parish.
Cemetery task force
The columbarium bill emerged from the diocesan cemetery task force, which was established in June 2019 to address the maintenance of Hawaii’s many cemeteries, to examine the potential of columbaria and also to look into the appointment of a diocesan cemetery director.
According to Father Anthony Rapozo, chairman of the task force, Bishop Silva asked the group to study the feasibility of parish columbaria.
“Funding was an issue,” Father Rapozo said, “but the biggest stumbling block was the regulatory requirements.”
“So the task force decided to tackle the regulatory side first in December 2019 and members helped to submit a bill to the legislature in January 2020 to exempt churches from the cemetery regulations,” he said.
A July 2019 survey counted 55 Catholic cemeteries in Hawaii. The vast majority have long run out of space and have not seen a burial in years. Nearly all come under the jurisdiction of rural parishes and missions. Some parishes maintain two, three or even four graveyards, the vestiges of long-closed mission communities. Fifteen of Hawaii’s 66 parishes reported having no cemetery associated with it.
Father Rapozo said that those few parish cemeteries that still have space have been “technically closed” due to cemetery regulations. Those that still bury the dead don’t charge anything.
“The family must make arrangements with their mortuary for the cost of the burial,” Father Rapozo said.
In last year’s survey, 17 parishes expressed “probable” interest in building a columbarium, 23 said “maybe.”
A priority before COVID
Father William Kunisch, pastor of Resurrection of the Lord Church in Waipio, said his parish has plans for a columbarium that had been a “priority” when the parish built its new pastoral center. However, COVID-19 has put those plans “on the back burner for the time being.”
“It’s probably something we won’t get to for a few years,” he said.
“We hope to build a columbarium with 350 niches between the church and the pastoral center,” he said. “We also have space for additional niches inside the church near the main entrance.”
Father Kunisch said that a columbarium on the church campus “would be a beautiful reminder of the Communion of Saints and a statement of our hope in the Resurrection.”
“It is our Catholic faith that those who have gone before us in Christ are still very much with us and an object of the church’s prayer,” he said.
“Having their remains at church where they worshipped and prayed in this life is a reminder of that continued spiritual connection,” he said.
The pastor also sees the parish place of inurnment as a way to “expand our pastoral care to our grieving families.”
“It would give them a place to pray and remember their loved ones when they are at Mass,” he said.
He also hopes the columbarium will be “a more affordable option for the burial of loved ones.”
Father Kunisch said there is strong parishioner support for a columbarium. When the idea was proposed, “a few were ready to reserve one immediately,” he said.
“We always encourage people to prepare for the end of their lives, and their final disposition, as an act of stewardship and as a sign of faith in Christ Jesus,” he said.
Strongly in favor
The Diocese of Honolulu had lobbied strongly in favor of the columbarium bill, HB2202 HD1 SD1.
Oriel Agcaoili and his wife Caridad stand at the columbarium of St. Peter Episcopal Church in Honolulu of which Oriel is caretaker. (Photo courtesy of Rev. Diane Martinson)
The new statute was needed, the diocese argued, because Hawaii’s present law heavily regulates the commercial cemetery business, and did not legally or feasibly allow places of worship to provide such a service.
“Most states have an exception for charities,” said attorney Bruce Graham, consultant for the cemetery task force, “but not here.”
The diocese had sought the support of other religious faiths, including the Episcopal diocese and the Buddhists, in advocating for the columbarium bill.
St. Peter Episcopal Church in Honolulu already has a columbarium. The outdoor stone wall of niches was built with city and neighborhood approval in the late 1990s, according to the church’s present pastor Rev. Diane Martinson.
“There are a number of Episcopal churches that have columbaria,” she said. “As a result, I was surprised when I learned during the campaign for this legislation that there was an impediment.”
St. Peter’s columbarium, which is reserved for church members, has only five niches used and about 12 more purchased. “This is an historic Chinese-American congregation,” Rev. Martinson said. “Traditionally, Chinese don’t cremate.”
“I am seeing more cremations than body burials, so eventually demand for St. Peter’s columbarium will likely increase,” she said.
Many dioceses and archdiocese on the Mainland have an active cemetery ministry. The Honolulu diocese is getting advice from persons associated with cemetery operations in Chicago and Oakland.
While the Catholic Church’s canon law states a preference for full-body burial, it has no doctrinal objection to cremation.
The scattering of ashes is not permitted, however. The cremated remains must be laid to rest in a cemetery or other sacred place designated for this purpose.
