Hawaii Catholic Herald
Two years after wildfires tore through West and Upcountry Maui — devastating the historic beachfront town of Lahaina and killing more than 100 people — the community spirit remains strong despite the continued challenge of rebuilding homes, businesses and livelihoods.
Construction has ramped up in Lahaina, allowing for some businesses to reopen and some residents to return. The public can now drive through more areas as debris removal is completed (some are still open only to residents or remain completely closed).
The wider access includes streets surrounding Maria Lanakila Church, which was miraculously spared in the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, blaze while other properties around it were destroyed. This has allowed the church to reopen its doors and welcome parishioners — many still displaced from their homes in town — as well as other local residents and visitors.
The reopening of the church, rectory and parish office has provided a sense of normalcy and stability in the community, Missionaries of Faith Father Kuriakose Nadooparambil, pastor of Maria Lanakila, said in comments provided to the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
Anyone, parishioners or not, can find spiritual or financial help through the parish office, according to Father Nadooparambil. Maria Lanakila has also expanded its ministries to be sources of healing, consolation and support.
Amid all the positive developments, both Maria Lanakila and the wider community continue to face the realities of recovering from such widespread devastation.
Father Nadooparambil described ongoing repairs to the church’s roof, as well as restoration work on the rectory and an overall development plan for the church campus — which is set to include an adoration chapel, new meeting areas and a rebuilt Sacred Hearts School, its parochial school that was largely destroyed by the wildfire.
Sacred Hearts School initially relocated to Maria Lanakila’s mission church, Sacred Hearts in Kapalua, and last year took up residence at a temporary site in Kaanapali thanks to the generosity of many donors and of the property’s landowner, and the assistance of the Diocese of Honolulu.
Principal Tonata Lolesio told the Herald earlier this year that the plan is to rebuild the school on its original site, next to Maria Lanakila, and to expand its infrastructure to allow for more programs.
One of Sacred Hearts School’s biggest challenges is helping its families afford tuition, especially as many continue to face significant financial hurdles in their wildfire recovery.
Millions of dollars were raised in a tuition assistance campaign launched by the Hawaii Catholic Community Foundation immediately after the fire. The nonprofit agency that manages, invests and disburses funds throughout the Diocese of Honolulu closed the campaign at the end of 2024 after its goal was met.
Sacred Hearts School recently kicked off its own tuition fundraising effort, managed by the Augustine Educational Foundation. The Tuition Endowment Fund, part of the school’s two-pronged H.E.A.R.T.S. of Resilience Campaign, has a goal of $20 million.
The second component is the Campus Rebuild and Expansion Fund, which aims to raise money for the school’s new campus back in Lahaina.
Sacred Hearts School’s temporary Kaanapali location was a dramatic expansion of its humble accommodations at Sacred Hearts Mission Church in Kapalua — students went from tent classrooms and no outdoor space to air-conditioned rooms and areas for playing, eating and gathering.
One unique aspect of the Kaanapali site is a portable unit that houses a counseling center run by Catholic Charities Hawaii. It serves the school community as well as the wider population, and is just one more way that CCH is continuing to help survivors since quickly mobilizing in the days following the 2023 blaze.
Tina Andrade, CCH’s president and CEO, was the nonprofit agency’s chief operating officer when the wildfires struck West and Upcountry Maui. She had lived on the island for years raising her family, so the disaster hit close to home; she returned to help CCH’s outreach efforts at its support outpost in Kahului.
Andrade told the Herald that CCH’s initial actions included distributing gift cards; helping survivors navigate financial aid applications, mental health services and housing issues; and boosting the number of case managers to help survivors through the recovery process.
CCH also launched or partnered with several initiatives to sustain its post-wildfire support.
One is the Maui Relief Program, which provides financial assistance to survivors. The program, which is supported by Catholic Charities USA and the wider community, has so far helped more than 2,000 households, Andrade said.
Another program is the Disaster Case Management Program, a federal effort with which CCH has partnered since its launch in 2024. Andrade said that CCH has helped more than 1,200 children and adults through the DCMP with services ranging from housing referrals to mental health support.
Andrade said that mental health services are now one of CCH’s top priorities for helping survivors.
Though the fires were years ago, “survivors are still healing,” she said — “from the trauma, from the grief and from the overwhelming cost of rebuilding. They’ve lost homes, jobs, loved ones, treasures and entire communities.
“Recovery has no timeline, but with support and understanding, resilience will rise,” Andrade continued. “My role now is to continue to share (survivors’) stories so that they are not left behind.”