The congregation at the Mass for the World Day of the Sick Feb. 11 at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. (Photo courtesy of Dann Ebina)
October count
However, the number is 18,700 fewer than the pre-pandemic count
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
More Catholics in Hawaii are going to church as pandemic protocols loosen, according to the latest October count. But the numbers are still far fewer than they were pre-COVID-19.
The annual diocesan headcount of weekend Mass attendees recorded 27,455 in the pews in October 2021. That is up 8,460 from the 2020 count of 18,995, a 45% jump, but still 18,686 fewer than the 2019 pre-pandemic total of 46,141.
October is the month the diocese counts weekend Mass-goers. The numbers are the average single weekend total for that month.
October 2020, during the height of the pandemic, recorded a nearly 60% drop in Mass attendance. The numbers fell from 46,141 in October of 2019 to 18,995 in 2020, a difference of 27,146 or 58.8%.
Bishop Larry Silva stopped public liturgies on March 17, 2020. In-person Masses resumed the weekend of May 30-31 that same year, with strict regulations that included mandatory face masks, social distancing, the sanitizing of pews and other precautionary measures.
During this time, the bishop dispensed Hawaii Catholics of the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, while encouraging those who could go safely to do so. He ended the dispensation on April 3, 2021, the vigil of Easter.
While Catholics could still attend Mass, fear of the virus kept many away. The shrinkage of worship space caused by social distancing led many parishes to require Mass reservations or tickets.
With the relaxation of government social distancing rules on Dec. 1, 2021, churches were allowed to fill again.
Churches with the largest 2021 counts are St. Joseph, Waipahu, at 1,150, up from 848 in 2020; St. Jude, Kapolei at 1,146, up from 635 in 2020; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Ewa Beach, at 998, up from 568; and St. Augustine, Waikiki, at 844, up from 351.
For a pre-pandemic comparison, in 2019, St. Joseph counted 3,252, St. Jude counted 1,542, Our Lady of Perpetual Help counted 1,531, and St. Augustine counted 1,461.
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Hawaii’s mother church, tallied 644 Mass-goers in 2021, 309 more than the 2020 total of 335.
Massgoers at St. Stephen Diocesan Center’s chapel on Feb. 13, 2022. (HCH Photo: Anna Weaver)
The pandemic notwithstanding, Mass attendance in Hawaii has been slipping for decades.
In the 1990s, the count averaged around 60,000. That number went down by about 5,000 during the first decade of the 2000s.
Six years ago, in 2016, the number was 49,884. In 2017, it had dropped to 48,210; in 2018, to 46,890.
Each year’s total cannot be considered an exact figure. The counts are done manually and tabulation errors happen. Some parishes fail to report their count. For most years, the overall total has to be adjusted to make up for the missing figures.
To obtain the October count, ushers or other volunteers count the number of people attending the Saturday vigil Mass and Sunday Masses on each weekend in October. Adults and children 12 and under are counted separately and then added together for a total.
The final count is the average of all the weekends. The weekend totals are added together and then divided by the number of weekends. The resulting average is the “October count” submitted to the diocese for its records.
October is chosen because it is considered a neutral month, least affected by vacations and high-attendance feasts like Christmas and Easter. However, October has its own variables, like football season. It is also a slower month for tourist-oriented parishes.
