educators from Catholic schools across the state gathered Aug. 15 at St. Ann Church in Kaneohe for Mass honoring the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the start of the academic year. (Celia K. Downes / Hawaii Catholic Herald)
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Teachers and administrators from across the state gathered Aug. 15 to mark the start of the academic year with a special Mass organized by Hawaii Catholic Schools.
Normally called the Mass of the Holy Spirit, this year the occasion fell on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Before Mass began, Associate Superintendent Mandy Thronas-Brown welcomed Tonata Lolesio, principal of Sacred Hearts School, to provide an update on the school.
After its Lahaina campus was mostly destroyed in last year’s devastating wildfire, Sacred Hearts School relocated to Sacred Hearts Mission Church in Kapalua for the 2023-24 academic year.
Just before the start of the 2024-25 year, Sacred Hearts School blessed and opened its new temporary campus in the Kaanapali resort.
Lolesio thanked Bishop Larry Silva, Hawaii Catholic Schools, parishes, schools and “everyone for their kind words, messages of love and prayers.”
Msgr. Gary Secor, vicar general for the Diocese of Honolulu, presided over the liturgy at St. Ann Church in Kaneohe. He was joined by a half-dozen priests, including Msgr. Terry Watanabe, vicar forane of the Maui-Lanai Vicariate and chair of the diocesan board of education, as well as several deacons, including Deacon Raffy Mendoza, school accounting manager for Hawaii Catholic Schools.
In his homily, Msgr. Secor thanked the faculty and staff present for the “many sacrifices” they and their families have made in order to be Catholic educators.
“It’s a ministry,” he said, “and we greatly appreciate that you see it that way and that you have made these sacrifices to be able to bless our young brothers and sisters in our community.”
Msgr. Secor noted his own Catholic schooling, saying he is “a proud product of Catholic education all the way” — from St. Anthony School in Kailua to Maryknoll School in Honolulu to Chaminade University of Honolulu, before entering St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California.
“I have been greatly blessed by Catholic education,” he said. “It was really a wonderful foundation for me.”
Msgr. Secor also addressed the solemnity of the Assumption, describing the ways that Mary “reminds us of who we are called to be and what we are called to do.”
“We are blessed that we have a church that honors Mary … because she gave herself body and soul to the Lord, because she had an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus and because she did all of that as a woman,” Msgr. Secor said. “We thank God for that wonderful example (and) we pray for her intercession.”
At the end of Mass, Hawaii Catholic Schools and Chaminade University announced the winner of the annual Ka Hooulu Innovation Award, which was created in 2020 to honor an educator or team for innovation in the classroom.
Leilani Asuncion-Tagupa of Sacred Hearts Academy was this year’s honoree.
Asuncion-Tagupa, a 1991 Academy graduate who is the chair of the theology department, incorporates sewing in her lessons to teach students resourcefulness and service (the finished pieces are donated to the Philippines).
The morning continued with a keynote speech by Chris Stefanick, an internationally recognized author, speaker, television host and podcast host. He gave an energizing talk on “Living Joy: How to Build a Culture Where Faith Becomes Contagious and Work Becomes Joy.”
From top: Sacred Hearts School Principal Tonata Lolesio provided an update on how the school has fared in the wake of the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire that devastated Lahaina. Sacred Hearts Academy teacher Leilani Asuncion-Tagupa was honored with the Ka Hooulu Innovation Award, sponsored by Chaminade University of Honolulu. Author and speaker Chris Stefanick gave a keynote talk after Mass. (Photos by Celia K. Downes / Hawaii Catholic Herald)
