Father Elias “Eli” Escanilla is seen with a graduation-style vegetable lei, honoring his gardening skills and happiness to share with others. (Courtesy Lee Rivera)
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Father Elias “Eli” Escanilla possessed a keen ability to cultivate many things — plants and animals; funds for church repairs and improvements; interest in the Philippines, his home country; and a sense of community and pride at the parishes where he served.
At Holy Rosary Church in Paia, Maui, where he began his time in Hawaii in 2009, and later at Sacred Heart Church in Hawi, Hawaii Island, he introduced Filipino traditions and culture. He took parishioners to the Philippines on pilgrimages, installed stained-glass windows featuring Filipino saints and brought back gifts after his vacations at home.
“He was loved by many,” said Lee Rivera, a Sacred Heart parishioner and former Parish News reporter for the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
Father Escanilla, who had been battling cancer, died on Oahu Feb. 8 after resigning as administrator of Sacred Heart in late January. He was 73.
Bishop Larry Silva presided at his funeral Mass at Sacred Heart on March 13.
“When his illness got worse, we all prayed for him,” said Deacon Pat Constantino, who worked alongside Father Escanilla at Holy Rosary from 2009-2015, until Father Escanilla was reassigned to Sacred Heart.
Father Escanilla “was a simple man, but dedicated to his flock,” Bishop Silva told the Hawaii Catholic Herald before the funeral Mass. “We are very grateful for his coming to Hawaii to serve as a ‘missionary’ here for so many years, and we will miss him.”
Father Escanilla was born on June 27, 1951, in Sorsogon, Philippines. He became a priest in the Diocese of Sorsogon in 1984 after completing his studies, including receiving a master of arts degree at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Philippine capital.
He worked at churches in the Diocese of Sorsogon as well as schools in Sorsogon before arriving in Hawaii in 2009.
According to Deacon Constantino, Holy Rosary was one of three churches on Maui that were “clustered” in 1995 by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo due to a shortage of priests (the other two were St. Rita in Haiku and St. Gabriel in Keanae). In 2009 Bishop Silva separated the churches and appointed Father Escanilla to be administrator of Holy Rosary.
“I was honored and privileged to minister with him as deacon of Holy Rosary,” Deacon Constantino said.
Father Escanilla’s contributions to the church included many infrastructure repairs and improvements; farming and cooking, then sharing his bounty with friends, parishioners and visitors; and overseeing the replacement of two stained-glass windows with windows depicting two Filipino saints — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod.
“He made you feel like giving and helping (with) the needs of whatever” needed to be done, Deacon Constantino said.
Father Escanilla also introduced the Tridentine Latin Mass to Maui and was authorized by Bishop Silva to celebrate the Latin Mass.
After six years, Bishop Silva reassigned Father Escanilla to Sacred Heart Church in Hawi — much to the dismay of Holy Rosary parishioners, according to Deacon Constantino, who said some even flew to Hawaii Island to visit their former parish administrator.
Father Escanilla quickly became a beloved part of the Sacred Heart ohana.
A 2021 Parish News report by Rivera said that parishioners felt “blessed” by Father Escanilla’s leadership, highlighting the infrastructure improvements he spearheaded there.
Father Escanilla also oversaw many parish activities — including potlucks, game nights and outdoor prayer services — and tended a vegetable garden, sharing what he grew with everyone.
Both Rivera and Deacon Constantino noted Father Escanilla’s love of his Filipino culture, which he perpetuated both on Hawaii Island and on Maui.
While at Sacred Heart, Father Escanilla sponsored an island-wide Santo Nino festival (a celebration of the infant Jesus that is widespread in the Philippines) as well as pilgrimages to the Philippines.
Rivera recalled her trip to Cebu in 2016 for the International Eucharistic Congress with other Hawaii Catholics, the seed for which was planted several months earlier when Father Escanilla asked if she had ever been to the Philippines.
Rivera, who is of Filipino descent, said no, but that it was on her bucket list — and “seven months later, I was on the plane going to the Eucharistic Congress in Cebu.”
Deacon Constantino is also of Filipino descent but was born and raised in Hawaii, and thus “Americanized,” as he described himself.
“I learned a lot of Filipino culture, spiritual customs, prayers, etc.,” from Father Escanilla, he said.
“There are many things we did together,” Deacon Constantino said, “and we will cherish them forever.”
