Marianist Brother Frank Anthony “Paco” Gomes
Maui-born educator found joy in Hispanic ministry, teaching
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Marianist Brother Frank Anthony “Paco” Gomes was a proud Maui native whose impact on schoolchildren and Hispanic ministries was felt both in the United States and in Mexico.
Born in Makawao in 1940, Brother Gomes was able to return to Hawaii for several decades of his 64 years of religious life, teaching a variety of subjects at schools in the Diocese of Honolulu. He marked 60 years of profession in 2019 in Hawaii before moving to Cupertino, California, where he died on March 13 at age 83.
Brother Gomes was introduced to the Society of Mary early in life, receiving his education from Marianists at St. Anthony School in Wailuku and at Chaminade University in Kaimuki. He paid it forward as a teacher at Saint Louis School in Kaimuki and at his alma mater, St. Anthony, guiding students in religion, Spanish and driver’s education.
In 1986, Brother Gomes sought to serve the community of Apaseo el Grande in Guanajuato state, Mexico, and stayed until 1993. He worked with the poor and was also principal of the local school.
Those years, Brother Gomes said in a reflection he wrote to celebrate his 60th jubilee year, were “the happiest years” in
his ministry.
After his time in Mexico, Brother Gomes returned to the U.S. and dove into Hispanic ministry. In San Jose, California, he helped establish a mission linked to St. Maria Goretti Parish that was known as the Santee mission and was later formally recognized as a new parish community, Our Lady of Refuge.
Brother Gomes also returned to the Diocese of Honolulu to teach English as a Second Language at various parishes.
No matter where he was, Brother Gomes always remembered his island home.
“How wonderful and awesome it is to be from Makawao, Maui,” he wrote in his jubilee reflection. “What a wonderful and beautiful place it is; a reflection of heaven.”