The Marianists will leave St. Anthony Church and School in Wailuku, Maui, after 138 years.. (HCH file photo)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The Brothers and Fathers of the Society of Mary, known as the Marianists, will bid aloha to St. Anthony Parish and School in Wailuku, Maui, on June 30 after maintaining a presence there for 138 years.
Marianist Father Tim Kenney made the announcement on behalf of the U.S. Marianist provincial, Father Oscar Vasquez, at parish Masses over the Jan. 16-17 weekend.
A Jan. 18 statement by the Diocese of Honolulu said the reason for the departure was a shortage of Marianist members.
The Marianists who will be relocating are pastor Father Roland Bunda, parochial vicar Father Sylverius Kerketta, pastoral associate Brother Fred Silbereis, and pastoral associate Brother David Quigley.
“Yes, it is with sadness that the Marianists are leaving St. Anthony School and Parish,” Father Bunda told the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
“The parishioners were surprised and saddened by the announcement,” he said. “It will take time to get over the shock of the news.”
The pastor said that he too was surprised by the announcement.
The Marianist Province of the United States had a six-year contract with the diocese of Honolulu that was to have ended next year, in June 2022, Father Bunda explained. He will be 80 years old by then and had been planning on that to be his retirement date.
The diocesan statement said, “After much discussion within the Marianists’ Provincial Council and with Bishop Larry Silva, it was decided that the Marianist personnel resources have become sufficiently thin that they can no longer staff St. Anthony Parish, Wailuku after June 30, 2021.”
The Marianists, whose primary charism is education, have been at St. Anthony School for 138 years and have staffed the parish for 45 years. The Diocese of Honolulu will take over administration of the parish and school on July 1. The new pastor will be announced soon.
“We are most grateful to the Marianists for their faithful and loving service at St. Anthony Church and School and for their ministry and presence on the island of Maui,” the diocese’s statement said.
“Many lives have been touched by the service and witness of the brothers and fathers over many generations,” it continued, “and we are certain their presence will continue to bear good fruit for generations to come.”
The following Marianist priests have served as pastors at St. Anthony Church: Father James Orsini (now a diocesan priest), Father Jack Reilly, Father William O’Connell, Father Charles Oyabu, Father Raymond Malley and Father Bunda, who has served for 14 years.
St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wailuku was established by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The first recorded missionary activity was the baptism of 19 Hawaiians on July 5, 1846, in a Wailuku catechist’s home. According to the parish website, the first Mass was celebrated on the site on July 13, 1848, in a thatched structure.
The first wood-framed church was built in 1854.
According to the website, King Kamehameha IV deeded 16 acres of land in Wailuku to Bishop Louis Maigret in 1858-59. On May 3, 1873, the bishop blessed the third church, a stone structure. The blessing was the occasion of Father Damien de Veuster’s first volunteering to go to Kalaupapa.
The church building continued to be enlarged and improved over the years, emerging as a Wailuku landmark for more than a century.
The Marianists assumed leadership of the parish in 1976. They were already a big part of St. Anthony, having run the school for boys since 1883.
A year after the Marianists took over the parish, a fire set by an arsonist destroyed the historic church. The present church was dedicated on June 13, 1980.
Bishop Silva will celebrate the 10 a.m. Mass at St. Anthony Church, Wailuku, on Sunday, June 13, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, to mark several milestones: the Marianists’ 45 years in the parish, the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the current church, and the 175th anniversary of the founding of St. Anthony School.
At that time, the bishop will formally thank the Marianists for their faithful service.
The Marianists will continue their service at Chaminade University of Honolulu and Saint Louis School.
