Marianist Father Stephen Tutas
Marianist was one of the founders of Chaminade University of Honolulu
Marianist Father Stephen Tutas, a giant in the Society of Mary, a man of quiet intelligence, steadfast hope and exceptional leadership abilities and one of the founders of Chaminade University of Honolulu, died April 16, in Cupertino, California, at the age of 95 with 77 years of religious profession.
Father Tutas was superior general of the Society of Mary from 1971 to 1981. He was among the five Marianists instrumental in the creation of Chaminade University, and he served as president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. He also was chairman of the Transition Coordinating Committee, shepherding the consolidation of four American Marianist provinces into the Province of the United States in 2002.
Stephen Roch Tutas was born on Dec. 18, 1926, in Hamilton, Ohio, one of two boys of Albert and Teckla (Drobkiewicz) Tutas. He attended Hamilton Catholic High School, where he was impressed by his Marianist teachers, becoming a postulant at age 15, beginning formation while still in high school. He professed first vows on Aug. 20, 1944.
In 1947, after earning a degree in education, he taught for two years at St. Louis College in Honolulu. He professed perpetual vows on June 20, 1948, in Honolulu, becoming a member of the Marianist Province of the Pacific when it was established that year.
Tutas moved to the Marianist seminary in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1949 to study for the priesthood. He was ordained on July 12, 1953, in Fribourg and remained there to complete a licentiate in sacred theology degree.
Father Tutas returned to Honolulu to serve as a teacher and chaplain at St. Louis College, which at that time was a “junior college,” offering two-year degrees. Working with four other Marianists, Father Tutas transformed the institution into Chaminade College in 1955. He served as its acting president (1956-1957) and its dean (1957-1958). From 1958 to 1962, Father Tutas served as director of the Marianist Community in Honolulu, a bustling group of some 60 men, ages 19 to 90.
In 1962, Father Tutas was called back to Switzerland as director of apostolic formation at the Marianist Seminary until 1966, and as the seminary’s rector from 1966 to 1969.
During this time, Father Tutas was only in his mid-to-late 30s, a young man to be holding such important roles in the society.
Father Tutas returned to the States and to the Province of the Pacific in 1969.
He served as the province’s assistant for religious life in Cupertino, California, for the next two years.
Father Tutas’s next ministry was his most noteworthy. He was elected superior general of the Society of Mary and served two five-year terms in Rome, from 1971 to 1981. It was a busy decade, marked by progress in the society. A key development during his term was the revision of the Marianist Rule of Life, the society’s guiding governance document, in light of the renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council. His administration also established that brothers — not just priests — could serve as provincials.
“He was a superior general of hope,” said Father Quentin Hakenewerth. “I remember on several occasions, in the evaluation of an important gathering, he would say that he did not hear enough expression of hope. He said that hope motivates and strengthens.”
In his early 70s and his fifth decade of ministry, Father Tutas remained vital and active serving in a variety of administrative capacities. In 2003, he returned to Hawaii, serving as parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish, in Wailuku, Maui. He enjoyed parish life, and remained there through 2006, when, nearing age 80, he returned to Cupertino.
Father Tutas lent his accumulated knowledge and grace to many province committees and projects in his later years and was revered as a wisdom figure among U.S. Marianists.
“Steve was a humble, kind and sensitive counsellor. He was a holy man and a good, supportive friend,” said Marianist Brother Steve Glodek. “He insistently called us as brothers, and as provincial leaders, to go beyond what we thought we could do. He told us, ‘Do more; it’s Mary’s mission that we are about! She will give us the resources we need!’”
