Parishioners filled the pews at St. Joseph Church in Waipahu during the 10 a.m. Mass March 3. (Celia K. Downes / Hawaii Catholic Herald)
Isle parishes see rebound in Sunday Mass attendance
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
While still far from its pre-pandemic level, Sunday Mass attendance in Hawaii has been slowly rising after plummeting in the first year that COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.
Conducted every October, the statewide annual count of parishioners attending Saturday vigil and Sunday Masses averaged 34,748 in 2023 — a 9% increase over 2022, when attendance averaged 31,874. The 2023 count included figures from 66 churches, 21 missions and two ethnic communities.
During the tally, parish volunteers count every person in the pews — as accurately as they can, as the process is done manually — each weekend in October. The weekly figures are then added and divided over the total number of weekends in the month, resulting in an average.
Some of the state’s parishes and missions do not report their findings every year; others might have incomplete data and must find a way to compensate.
Still, the overall average shows more than 2,800 parishioners returned to Mass last October versus the year prior.
Last year’s count was more than 11,000 shy of the 2019 figure — which at 46,141 itself pales in comparison to an average of about 60,000 in the 1990s — but was well above the statewide total logged in 2020. Then, with Hawaii and the world buckling from the impact of COVID-19, Mass attendance dipped to 18,995 as public liturgies were first canceled completely and faced new social distancing guidelines upon reopening.
Bishop Larry Silva also enacted a dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass that was in place for a year, until the spring of 2021. The statewide parish count that October rose by about 8,500 to 27,454 as parishioners gradually returned to their churches, which remained under federal social distancing rules until they were relaxed at the end of the year.
Most parishes across the state have seen their Mass attendance rebound since 2020; some have experienced a robust response by parishioners as the world continues to return to a kind of normalcy.
Bishop Silva, who can often be seen visiting parishes throughout the diocese, has noticed the increase in parishioners.
“I am happy to see that the statistics confirm my perception,” he said. “I am grateful to all the clergy and lay faithful who take the risk of asking others to join them for Mass and who make them feel welcome when they come.
“There is still much more to do, of course, but we are grateful for the progress!”
Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ewa Beach recorded an average growth of more than 200 parishioners from 2022 to 2023, with its October count rising from 988 to 1208.
Father Edmundo Barut Jr., who has been pastor at OLPH since 2016 and part of the parish clergy since 2012, said OLPH has been focused on growth since he first arrived, and boosted its efforts last year with frequent attendance counts during weekend Masses.
“On one hand, there is a sense of joy to see the parish church filled up with Mass-goers,” Father Barut said. “We are very thankful to God for this blessing of having a good number of Mass-goers both in our weekend Masses as well as in our daily Masses.”
On the other hand, Father Barut also noted that average attendance continues to lag pre-pandemic numbers.
“We continue to pray and hope that the numbers become better even beyond the pre-pandemic counts,” he said.
St. Joseph Church in Waipahu, the state’s largest by number of parishioners, saw its year-over-year parish count rise by more than 500 to 2,471 in 2023.
Parishioners filled the pews, and later stood along the corridors, at St. Joseph Church in Waipahu during the 10 a.m. Mass on March 3. (Celia K. Downes / Hawaii Catholic Herald)
La Salette Father Geronimo “Eric” Castro, who was a parochial vicar at St. Joseph for eight years before being appointed pastor last July, said that the increase in Mass attendance last year was obvious.
“The pews were consistently filled, and people standing inside the church due to the lack of available seating is becoming normal in some Masses,” such as the 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday services, Father Castro said.
Father Castro said he is “amazed and elated” by the return of so many parishioners.
“The increase in parishioners is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our parish community,” he said. “We have actively encouraged individuals to come back to church post-pandemic, and have implemented various initiatives to attract and retain parishioners.”
Father Castro also credited the increase in part to an influx of families to Waipahu and the overall Leeward Oahu region as more housing units are built.
One of the notable changes in parish populations that pastors have observed has been an increase in younger parishioners.
“It is heartwarming to see more young families attending Mass together, as I truly believe that the presence of children often encourages their elders to return to church,” Father Castro said.
At St. Joseph Church in Hilo — where the average attendance last year was 749, more than 250 over 498 in 2022 — Blessed Sacrament Father Apolinario Ty said he also has observed “new faces of young couples and families” in their 30s and 40s who are attending Mass.
Father Ty, who has been pastor for four years and at the parish since 2016, hypothesized that the pandemic, while a harrowing time, might have actually inspired parishioners to return to church as it “gave people the time to pause and think and re-evaluate their lives especially as it concerns their families.”
“But most of all, I believe this is the fruit of the parish community prayer,” he said.
As parishes see their Mass attendance rebound, they also face challenges in accommodating the increase in parishioners both physically and in other ways.
At St. Joseph in Waipahu, for example, “parking has become a logistical issue,” Father Castro said. “In response to this challenge, we have begun to improve our facilities to meet the needs of our parishioners, but this remains an ongoing process.”
Father Ty of St. Joseph in Hilo noted that his parish’s growth means resources become more limited, such as in responding to social issues like poverty and homelessness.
“A bigger parish will also mean more diversified and differing characters,” he said. “And one cannot avoid having to wrestle with conflicting ideas and opinions.”
OLPH’s Father Barut cited limited resources as well, but both he and Father Ty emphasized that these challenges reveal opportunities to grow.
