Kainoa Fukumoto (Diocese of Honolulu)
Hawaii Catholic Herald
To many in the diocese, Kainoa Fukumoto is a familiar face.
He’s loaned his musical skills to countless diocesan liturgies over the past two decades, held numerous roles at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Wahiawa, was an educator and administrator at St. Michael School in Waialua, and is a leader in faith formation and young adult initiatives statewide.
It might be no surprise, then, to find Fukumoto in a role within the diocese that offers a new title, but whose goals align with what he has worked on throughout his career.
Fukumoto was hired this fall to serve as associate director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. He previously was principal of St. Michael School but stepped down in 2023 to care for his family as his wife battled and recovered from a serious illness (he continues to serve as president of the school board).
The OEC’s mission, according to the Diocese of Honolulu’s website, is to provide “leadership and support for Catholic parish and school catechetical leaders within the Diocese of Honolulu on our shared mission to evangelize and catechize.”
Fukumoto said his position’s primary responsibility is young adult and adult faith formation. It’s a well-timed move, he added, considering he turned 40 this year — “technically the cutoff for young adults as defined by the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops).”
“Although I think I still have much I can contribute in regards to the work of ministry to young adults, I’m also at a point in my life where I am asking, ‘What’s next?’ if I’m no longer a ‘young’ adult,” he said.
Being the OEC associate director will allow him to look at “what opportunities, programs and ministries exist in our diocese that support faith formation for young adults and those beyond the ‘young adult’ years.”
Fukumoto’s family was another factor that guided his decision to seek the associate director role. A year after leaving St. Michael to care for his wife and three daughters (“My wife has since made an extraordinary recovery,” Fukumoto noted), he began to consider returning to work.
“After much thought and prayer, I felt God was calling me to transition from school leadership to something else, which is when the opportunity for this position providentially came up,” he said.
Knowing OEC Director Lisa Gomes through Our Lady of Sorrows and their shared youth and young adult ministry work is just one positive aspect of the job. Fukumoto said he hopes the many connections he’s made over the decades will help his office collaborate with other parishes, organizations and diocesan offices to promote the OEC’s goals — “to be a catalyst for evangelization and catechesis to be more integrated at all levels of our church.”
