Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego John Dolan lays his hands on Deacon Dario Rinaldi’s head ordaining him to the priesthood May 20, in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego John Dolan ordained Maui man Dario Rinaldi to the priesthood for the Diocese of Honolulu May 20 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in a solemn liturgy during which nearly 50 priests welcomed him into their brotherhood.
Bishop Dolan was a last-minute substitute for Bishop Larry Silva who tested positive for COVID-19 two days before and was in isolation at his residence at St. Stephen Diocesan Center, watching the ordination by livestream.
“It is my absolute joy to celebrate with you on this beautiful day on this great occasion as we celebrate the ordination of a fine man, one of your own,” the San Diego bishop said in his opening remarks.”
“I am not one of your own,” he said, drawing a laugh. “We know that Bishop Silva is down for the count for a few days, and so in an act of desperation he asked me to fill in.”
“It is going to be a joyful celebration,” he said. “People are gathered here to celebrate what you have accomplished and really to surround you with their love. … We do that in a most profound way as we gather here at the table of the Lord.”
The rite of ordination began after the reading of the Gospel with the formal summoning of the candidate for holy orders.
“May the one who is to be ordained priest come forward — Dario Rinaldi,” Bishop Dolan said.
“Present,” replied the candidate in a strong, confident voice as he stood in the sanctuary facing the bishop.
A ceremonial exchange between diocesan director of vocations Father Joseph Diaz and the bishop followed.
“Most reverend father, Holy Mother Church asks you to ordain this man, our brother, to the responsibility of the priesthood,” Father Diaz said.
“Do you know him to be worthy,” asked the bishop.
“After inquiry among the Christian people and on the recommendation of those concerned with his formation, I testify that he has been found worthy,” Father Diaz said.
The bishop concluded, “Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose this man, our brother, for the order of the priesthood.”
This time the congregation responded, “Thanks be to God” followed by vigorous applause.
The bishop’s homily, which came next, was a theological exhortation.
“And my friends, since this man, your son and your relative and friend, is soon to be advanced to the order of priest, consider carefully that nature of the ministerial ranking of the church to which he shall be raised,” the bishop said. “Priests are established as co-workers of the order of bishops with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the people of God.”
The sermon offered lots of advice for the new priest including, “Let the holiness of your life be a pleasing fragrance for Christ’s people so that you may build up, by word and example, that house which is the church of God.”
The rite continued with the candidate promising the bishop to accept the responsibilities of priesthood and then laying prostrate face down on the sanctuary floor as the choir led the long Litany of the Saints.
Deacon Rinaldi then knelt before Bishop Dolan, who, for five solemn seconds, laid his hands upon the young man’s head, silently invoking the Holy Spirit, ordaining him a priest.
Father Rinaldi remained kneeling, head bowed, as all 47 priests in the sanctuary repeated the bishop’s action, their hands sprayed with sanitizer before and after, a liturgical adaptation generated by the pandemic. The choir chanted the “Veni Creator Spiritus” in Latin.
The bishop then read a lengthy “Prayer of Ordination,” after which La Salette Father Geronimo Castro and Father William Kunisch helped the newly-ordained into his priestly stole and chasuble.
His parents, Laurie and Steve Rinaldi, then gave him a lei.
Deacon Dario Rinaldi lies prostrate in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa sanctuary during the Litany of the Saints. (Photo courtesy of Dann Ebina)
The ordination rituals continued with Bishop Dolan anointing Father Rinaldi’s hands with chrism, and handing him the bread and wine to be used for the Mass.
The bishop then led the priests in giving their new brother presbyter a “fraternal kiss of peace” — for most, an over-the-shoulder hug and pat on the back.
The Mass continued with Father Rinaldi standing at the altar at Bishop Dolan’s left, sharing in the recitation of the Eucharistic Prayer, extending his right hand to consecrate for the first time the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Toward the end of Mass, Father Diaz read a brief letter from Bishop Silva to the newly-ordained.
“Dear Father Dario, peace be with you,” he began.
“I pray you will enjoy a long lifetime of many blessings and that you will always be a blessing to the people you serve,” he said.
“I am very disappointed that my health situation does not allow me to celebrate your ordination personally, but I am very grateful to Bishop John Dolan for coming on a very short notice to ordain you. Know that you are in my daily prayers.”
The bishop also expressed his congratulations to Father Rinaldi’s parents, brother and sister-in-law and the seminary faculties and “all who helped you prepare for this wonderful day.”
At the end of Mass, Bishop Dolan imparted a little advice to the new priest. “Father Dario … that sounds good,” he said, repeating “Father Dario” three times.
Deacon Dario Rinaldi stands in the first pew of the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa before his ordination to the priesthood. His parents, Laurie and Steve Rinaldi are in the background. (Photo courtesy of Dann Ebina)
“It took you a long while to get here. But you got here. It took me a long while to get here too,” he joked about his flight from San Diego, “but not quite as long as you.”
He suggested that Father Rinaldi be “a collaborator in the vocations effort, to invite others to consider the priesthood … to invite others to the table of the Lord as priests.”
After Mass, people lined up outside to congratulate the new priest and to receive his blessing.
Dario Luca Rinaldi, born in 1993 in Eugene, Oregon, is the oldest of two sons of Steve and Laurie Rinaldi. His younger brother is Victor. In 2000, the family relocated to Makawao, Maui.
Father Rinaldi attended St. Joseph Parish elementary school in Makawao and St. Anthony Junior-Senior High School in Wailuku, graduating in 2011.
He went to Mount Angel College Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, graduating in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He did his graduate studies at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California.
After being ordained a deacon in 2019, Father Rinaldi finished his summer pastoral assignment at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Ewa Beach and spent the fall semester back at the seminary.
He then served at Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio for a year and at Holy Family Parish in Honolulu from January through July 2021.
Father Rinaldi graduated from St. Patrick Seminary with a master’s of divinity and a bachelor’s in sacred theology on May 5.
His first assignment as a priest will be as parochial vicar at St. Catherine Parish in Kapaa, Kauai, where he spent his 2017-2018 seminary pastoral year.
