Deacon Dario Rinaldi, right, with Honolulu seminarian Arrion Rosales-Llantos, at the deacon’s graduation at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, May 5. (Photo courtesy of Arrion Rosales-Llantos)
‘Sense of completion’
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Deacon Dario Rinaldi’s journey to priesthood culminates on May 20 when Bishop Larry Silva will ordain him as a diocesan priest at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.
On May 2, the Hawaii Catholic Herald spoke by phone with Rinaldi, 29, as he finished up his time at the seminary in California.
“In this moment, after quite the ride that it’s been through over 10 years of seminary, it’s a very uplifting feeling, sort of this sense of completion and yet excitement for the things to come,” said Deacon Rinaldi of how he felt about his approaching ordination.
“Over the course of 11 years, I’ve been to two seminaries, been assigned at seven parishes [on the mainland and in Hawaii] as a seminarian and later as a deacon, had so many powerful experiences and met so many interesting people,” Deacon Rinaldi said. “And it’s all been sort of gearing me towards these next couple weeks.”
Maui upbringing
Dario Luca Rinaldi was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1993 to Steve and Laurie Rinaldi. He has one younger brother, Victor. In 2000, when Dario was 7, the family moved to the Makawao area of Maui for the warmer climate.
In a previous Herald profile, Rinaldi told the newspaper that the death and funeral of then-Pope John Paul II in 2005 had a big impact on him.
“I was taken aback by the scale of the funeral and what he did to be loved by the whole world, being Jesus Christ to other people,” he said. “It really had an effect on me.”
La Salette Father Geronimo “Eric” Castro was a parochial vicar and, later, the pastor at St. Joseph while Rinaldi was growing up at the parish. He and some of the religious sisters serving at the parish noticed young Dario showing vocational promise. Not only was he a studious altar server but he was also reading books on church history and the liturgy.
“I could really see already that devotion to the Mass and to the liturgy,” Father Castro said. “When I was there, I encouraged parishioners to pray for him and to support him in his discernment to enter the seminary.”
Rinaldi went to the parish school, St. Joseph Elementary in Makawao, followed by St. Anthony Junior-Senior High school in Wailuku, graduating in 2011.
From there, sure of pursuing his priestly vocation, Rinaldi went to college at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon. He graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. After that, he did his post-graduate studies at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California.
Following his diaconate ordination in 2019, Rinaldi finished his summer pastoral assignment at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Ewa Beach and spent the fall semester back at seminary.
He then served at Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio for a year, starting there in January 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Deacon Rinaldi went home to Makawao for a few months at the start of the pandemic, which he says ended up being a contemplative time that allowed him to slow down, do some deep reflection and delve into spiritual reading. He also worked on a catechetical teaching guide for parents of young children that he submitted to the Diocese of Honolulu.
Gift for teaching
Father William Kunisch, who was pastor of Resurrection of the Lord at the time, said that Deacon Rinaldi’s dry and witty sense of humor was especially appreciated when the two of them had to laugh at themselves and “our often-feeble attempts to do ministry with all the restrictions” that arose during the unprecedented pandemic, like delivering livestreamed Masses and figuring out how to teach online.
He also appreciated how tech-savvy the deacon was during the early days of the pandemic when much of the parish’s life went online. Deacon Rinaldi ended up teaching classes virtually as part of his assignment and helping prepare weekly prerecorded catechism videos.
“I think he has a real gift for teaching,” said Father Kunisch. “One of his strengths would be taking our Catholic doctrines and making them easy for anyone to understand. But not only easy, also relevant. He’s good at connecting faith to life, and that’s true of people of all ages and different backgrounds.”
After Resurrection of the Lord, Deacon Rinaldi was assigned to Holy Family Parish in Honolulu from January through July 2021. There he served under pastor, Father Rheo Ofalsa, who also worked with Rinaldi when Father Ofalsa was diocesan vocations director.
Rinaldi recently finished his studies at St. Patrick’s and graduated with a master’s of divinity and a bachelor’s in sacred theology.
After he is ordained a priest, he will be assigned as parochial vicar at St. Catherine Parish in Kapaa, Kauai, which is where he also spent his 2017-2018 pastoral year during seminary.
“I’m excited to see everyone there,” Deacon Rinaldi said. “I feel like it’s going back home.”
Ordination day
Attending his ordination from his hometown of Makawao will be his parents and some fellow St. Joseph parishioners.
His parents are, of course, very proud of him and “remind me of that all the time,” said Deacon Rinaldi with a bit of a note of amusement in his voice.
Rinaldi has about 15 people coming from out of town for his May 20 evening ordination, including family from the west coast and a cousin flying in from Switzerland.
Having been at the ordinations of many of his brother seminarians-now-priests, Deacon Rinaldi says he has “a pretty good visualization of seeing myself flat on the floor during the Litany of the Saints or being vested for the first time in the vestments of a priest.”
“And it gives me this sense of fulfillment just thinking of getting ready to enter into this life and begin full ministry as a priest.”
Fathers Kunisch and Castro will both help “vest” Rinaldi during the part of the ordination ritual where the just-ordained priest puts on his priestly garments for the first time. Both say their prayers for Deacon Rinaldi will continue long after ordination day.
“Priesthood is something that we are always growing into, we’re always learning more,” Father Kunisch said. “I pray that as Deacon grows in his own understanding of ministry that he loves God’s people and enjoys his ministry.”
Father Castro also hopes that people will continue to pray for Rinaldi and all priests.
“This life is a gift, but of course, this, life will become a sacrifice also that is being offered for God and for the people of God,” he said.
Reviewing Rinaldi
Here are a few fun facts about Dario Rinaldi.
Favorite food
- My mom’s recipes for roast chicken and pot roast. I’d say I’m a pretty good cook. I like cooking and miss doing it here at the seminary.
Favorite foods from home
- Spam and rice to restock my supply at seminary and dried squid.
Favorite way to relax
- I like to read. It’s a bit of a stereotype for a seminarian but I like J.R.R. Tolkien. “Lord of the Rings” is my favorite but I also like Tolkien’s story collection “The Silmarillion.”
- I also like to play video games, especially Nintendo 64 and classic games like Mario and Donkey Kong.
Spirituality
- I’m drawn to Benedictine spirituality, something I discovered at Mount Angel seminary. I don’t have what it takes to enter monastic life but I do have a deep respect for it.
Homily style
- I don’t write my homilies. God blessed me with a good memory, and I like to use it. So, I’ve always felt people get a stronger connection with a preacher when he looks them in the eye. … What I want to get across to the people who hear me preach is that I believe what I’m saying and I believe it in my heart. So it’s not something that I need a lot of notes to talk about it. … A lot of people say it feels like I’m talking directly to them, which I kind of am … it’s a conversation.
