Office for Social Ministry
“Mercy is the very foundation of the church’s life … The church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love … Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.” (Pope Francis, Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, 2015)
Ten years ago in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis called the church to be a “field hospital” for wounded humanity, planting the seeds for this year’s Jubilee Year of Hope, now led by Pope Leo XIV.
Both popes remind us that the church’s mission is to walk with the afflicted — offering mercy that heals and hope that inspires. By emphasizing the importance of responding with compassion and spiritual guidance, these popes have called the church worldwide to develop healing ways to welcome and embrace those who are suffering.
Here in Hawaii, this mission comes alive every day through organizations connected to the Catholic Church and rooted in compassion.
Behind the scenes, many unsung heroes at St. Francis Hospice, one of the services of St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii founded by the Sisters of St. Francis, are accompanying persons suffering the serious health challenges of facing the terminal realities of our human mortality.
A team of doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors and volunteers surrounds patients and families with holistic support for body, mind and spirit. Their very presence helps persons experience peace and dignity in the final days of passage from this life.
Besides offering compassionate care at its 12-bed inpatient facility in Nuuanu, St. Francis Hospice also sends caregivers to private homes, care facilities and foster homes to address the needs of the sick and their families. It has many volunteers from the Diocese of Honolulu who play a vital role in helping provide services that follow in the footsteps of Hawaii’s missionary saints, Father Damien de Veuster and Mother Marianne Cope of Molokai.
St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii also offers pastoral counseling for people of all faiths, helping families cope with pain, loss and grief.
For more about volunteer opportunities to participate in and support this ministry of merciful compassion and hopeful presence, please visit St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii’s website at www.stfrancishawaii.org.
On the Big Island, Hope Services Hawaii, an affiliate of the Diocese of Honolulu, has also been compassionately accompanying vulnerable persons, listening to and addressing their critical needs.
Hope Services Hawaii traces its origins to the homeless housing and mobile health care ministries of the diocesan Office for Social Ministry, inspired by the compassionate service of Sts. Damien and Marianne.
In 2019, Hope Services Hawaii launched a Street Medicine program partnering with Hui Malama na Oiwi, and later with Premier Medical Group, bringing care directly to those living on the streets. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hope Services expanded and extended its testing and preventative health services and also opened its first medical respite center, Hale Maluhia Women’s shelter in Hilo.
It has continued to add accessible health care services for the most vulnerable in partnership with Hilo Medical Center, offering clean safe beds, medical staff and connection to wraparound social services.
Thanks to Aloha Care, HMSA, Ohana and United Health, plus county and state funding, Hope Services is able to provide street medicine outreach through highly trained teams. These teams include a psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, certified mental health substance abuse counselors and social workers to address the needs of vulnerable persons through Medicaid Community Care Services.
Hope Services Hawaii now includes broader community partnerships to provide more affordable housing and accessible health care on the Big Island, including intensive case management for those with complex needs; rural outreach and behavioral health counseling; assisted community treatment for those unaware they need help; and integrated care hubs for stabilization and recovery in neighborhood communities.
In recognition of this innovative outreach approach to providing accessible health care, Hope Services Hawaii was selected to host the 21st annual International Street Medicine Symposium in Hilo from Sept. 9-12. For more on how you can support Hope Services Hawaii, please visit www.hopeservices
hawaii.org
St. Francis Hospice and Hope Services Hawaii embody the spirit of Pope Francis’ and Pope Leo’s Jubilee Year calls to reflect God’s merciful, hopeful presence in our midst. We give thanks for their inspiring commitment, and let us all do what we can to help build a church that is indeed a field hospital of healing where mercy awakens in all the courage to look to the future with hope.
Mahalo,
Your friends in the Office for Social Ministry