By Lucy Peros, Christ the King Church
Special to the Herald
The Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette is a religious congregation of priests and brothers who serve all over the world. It was founded on May 1, 1852, by Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble, France, who a year earlier approved the apparition of Mary to two children in the village of La Salette on Sept. 19, 1846.
Maui is very fortunate to have five La Salette priests serving us today.
Father Efren Tomas arrived on Maui in 2004 to serve as pastor of Christ the King Church in Kahului; eight years later he was assigned to St. Joseph Church in Waipahu. He served there from 2012-2023, and now is back at Christ the King.
Around the same time as Father Tomas, Father Santiago Ner arrived to serve as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Makawao; they were the first La Salette priests to serve on Maui. Father Ner currently lives at the La Salette retirement home in Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
In addition to Father Tomas, current La Salette priests on Maui include Father Anil Kochuthazhath Varghese, associate pastor of Christ the King; Father Edison Pamintuan, pastor of St. Joseph; Father Napoleon Andres, associate pastor of St. Joseph; and Father Anton Nyo, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels Church/Holy Ghost Mission in Kula.
La Salette priests who previously served on Maui include Father Eric Castro, Father Adondee Arellano, Father Joseph Pilotin, Father Ronald Guzman, Father Wilfredo Iminga, Father Stevanus Suhama, Father Edwin Conselva, Father Gus Utthuppu and Father Philip Mahka Naw.
Mahalo, thank you, dios ti agngina and salamat po, fathers, and happy 20th anniversary.