2025: A year of hope, growth and faith

Compiled by Lisa Dahm

Hawaii Catholic Herald

2025 was a year of growth and celebration in the Diocese of Honolulu. New ministries and lay organizations gained footholds; a historic land sale agreement was finalized; and the Jubilee Year of Hope yielded many opportunities for catechesis, fellowship and growing in faith.

The diocese gained new priests and transitional deacons as it mourned the loss of other clergy, religious men and women, and laypersons who had an impact on the church. The worldwide church witnessed a papal transition with the death of Pope Francis and election of Pope Leo XIV.

Now the diocese looks ahead to 2027, when it marks 200 years since the arrival of Catholic missionaries in Hawaii. 2026 is a year of preparation, with much more in store.

January

The Jubilee Year themed “Pilgrims of Hope,” officially inaugurated in December 2024 as Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, continued with the opening of holy doors at the other major basilicas in Rome.
Kerry Alys Robinson, CEO of Catholic Charities USA, was the speaker for the Red Mass Jan. 14 at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu.
The Diocese of Honolulu and Kahala Nui, a retirement community that leased land next to Mary, Star of the Sea Church and School in Waialae-Kahala, finalized their land sale agreement Jan. 16.
Faithful gathered at the state Capitol Jan. 24 for the annual March for Life rally, calling for the protection of life from conception to natural death.
Tina Andrade became the president and CEO of Catholic Charities Hawaii. She is the first female layperson and first Native Hawaiian to lead the organization.
Eighteen men from across the state began their journey toward becoming permanent deacons in the Diocese of Honolulu.

February

On Feb. 15, parishioners from all corners of Maui met at St. Anthony Church in Wailuku for the Maui-Lanai Vicariate’s Stewardship Day.
On Feb. 21, Hope Services Hawaii, a Hawaii island nonprofit affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaii, blessed its new youth homeless outreach center for young adults experiencing homelessness in downtown Hilo in partnership with Neighborhood Place of Puna and The Salvation Army.
On Feb. 25, Knights of Columbus member and state Sen. Mike Gabbard presented a state Senate honorary certificate to 96-year-old John J. Brennan in recognition of Brennan’s 75 years of faithful and dedicated service to the Knights of Columbus.

March

In response to the devastating 2023 wildfires in Lahaina and Upcountry Maui, Catholic Charities Hawaii partnered with the American Red Cross to open the Maui Support Center at St. Anthony School in Wailuku to help first responders and anyone affected by the fires.
On March 1, Big Island Youth Day brought together teens from across Hawaii island for a day of reflection, spiritual growth and connection at St. Michael the Archangel Grace Parish Center in Kailua-Kona.
In the annual October count of faithful attending Saturday vigil and Sunday Masses conducted last year and reported March 28, the total average weekend Mass attendance across all parishes was about 37,283 — an increase of about 2,741, or 7.35%, over 2023.

April

Family, friends and fellow faithful gathered April 5 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu to honor 16 clergy and religious men and women celebrating jubilees this year.
On April 19 at Easter Vigil liturgies across the state, 284 catechumens received the sacraments of initiation — baptism, first holy Communion and confirmation.
On Easter Monday, April 21, Pope Francis died after suffering a stroke and heart failure.
On April 21, the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu closed to resume an extensive renovation, with completion targeted for the 2027 bicentennial of the arrival of Catholicism in Hawaii.

May

On May 2, a seam-bursting crowd of family, friends, clergy, religious and faithful from near and far filled the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa to celebrate Bishop Silva’s 50th jubilee of priestly ordination.
On May 3, delegates to the annual Knights of Columbus Hawaii State Council Convention elected state secretary Angelito “Lito” Alvarez to serve as state deputy.
On May 8, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost made history as the first American and Augustinian religious elected as the 267th Roman Catholic pope.
On May 15, the state’s top Catholic educator and administrator were honored by their peers at Hawaii Catholic Schools’ annual luncheon and Golden Pine“apple” awards presentation.
On May 16, Bishop Larry Silva ordained Deacon Preston Castro and Deacon Lawrence “Larry” Denis III to the priesthood at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
On May 17, Bishop Silva ordained Taylor K. Mitchell to the transitional diaconate at St. John Apostle and Evangelist Church in Mililani.

June

The traveling Jubilee cross continued to make its way across the Diocese of Honolulu, visiting parishes on Kauai after alighting on Lanai and in vicariates on Oahu and Hawaii island.
From June 22-27, high school students and chaperones gathered for the annual Christian Leadership Institute at St. Stephen Diocesan Center.
On June 27, members of the Diocese of Honolulu participated in the annual Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests, scheduled on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On June 27, the Hawaii Catholic Herald picked up six journalism awards at the Catholic Media Association’s Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, for work done in 2024.
On June 29, Paulist Father Chris Malano celebrated a special Mass at St. Joseph Church in Waipahu, honoring graduates from the class of 2025. The baccalaureate Mass was Father Malano’s first Mass at his home parish after his ordination a month earlier at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City.
The Herald honored the state’s Catholic high school seniors and the top students in each school’s graduating Class of 2025.

July

Priests were on the move July 1 as many new assignments across the diocese took effect.
Bishop Kolio Etuale Tumanuvao, the first Samoan native to lead the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago, visited Oahu from July 8-14.
On July 12, John Jacob Akau was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Silva at 9 a.m. at St. Joseph Church.
The growing Apostleship of the Sea Ministry-Hawaii celebrated Sea Sunday July 13 with Mass and fellowship at Pier 36 in Honolulu.
As of the July 18 issue, the Hawaii Catholic Herald changed to a square “tabloid” format due to a change in printers to Oahu Publications Inc.
The Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines celebrated the centennial of their founding in the Philippines with a pilgrimage to their home country July 20-24.
On July 21, Bishop Silva celebrated 20 years as bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu.
On July 30, the Joseph Dutton Guild, established a decade ago to advocate for Dutton’s beatification and canonization, announced in an email that an alleged miracle had been investigated in Illinois. Dutton, a layperson, went to Molokai in July 1886 to help Father Damien de Veuster care for Hansen’s disease patients.

August

Two years after wildfires tore through West and Upcountry Maui on Aug. 8 — devastating the historic oceanfront town of Lahaina and killing more than 100 people — the community’s spirit remains strong despite the continued challenge of rebuilding homes, businesses and livelihoods.
The traveling first-class relics of St. Damien and St. Marianne concluded their nationwide Tree of Hope Tour, which included stops in Arkansas, Minnesota and Washington, D.C.
On Aug. 9, the Carmelite Sisters elected Sister Agnella Iu as their new prioress at the Carmel of the Holy Trinity monastery at St. Stephen Diocesan Center.
Educators from Catholic schools across the state gathered Aug. 14 for the Mass of the Holy Spirit, the annual kickoff to the new academic year.
On Aug. 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, the Vietnamese Holy Martyrs Catholic Community in the Diocese of Honolulu celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.

September

Hawaii youth joined the worldwide celebration as Pope Leo XIV canonized St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati Sept. 7 in Rome.
On Sept. 8, state and national agencies announced the return of public tours in Kalaupapa, which were shut down five years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Sept. 12, the Knights of Peter Claver Council 419 was officially established in Hawaii in a ceremony at St. Anthony Retreat Center in Kalihi, followed by a Mass the next day at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
On Sept. 13, Marilyn Santos, associate director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was the keynote speaker for the Windward Day of Study at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua.

October

The Diocese of Honolulu hosted the annual meeting of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem’s Western USA Lieutenancy Oct. 3-6 in Waikoloa on Hawaii island.
On Oct. 5, Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Kula, Maui, celebrated the enshrinement of a first-class relic of St. Faustina Kowalska, the patron saint of mercy whose writings inspired the worldwide movement of devotion to Divine Mercy.
On Oct. 25, representatives from isle parishes involved in a nationwide project called Parents and Families at the Center of Faith Formation gathered at Sacred Heart Church in Honolulu for training and to go over their progress with the initiative.
Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa parishioner Faith Leasiolagi and Father Alfred Omar Guerrero went to Rome in late October to participate in synodal dialogue and in the Jubilee of the Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies.

November

Parishes rose to the occasion to help people affected by food insecurity amid the long federal shutdown.
The diocesan Respect Life Office invited two national experts, Father Shenan Boquet and Jozef Zalot, to talk to isle parishioners about the processes and ethics of reproductive medicine in a Zoom discussion Nov. 8 at St. John Apostle and Evangelist Church in Mililani.
Bishop Silva joined his fellow bishops and archbishops Nov. 10-13 for the fall plenary assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, Maryland.
Nearly 100 priests from across the diocese gathered at the Ala Moana Hotel Nov. 17-21 for their annual convocation.
On Nov. 21, with 16,000 people in attendance in Indianapolis, Indiana, Saint Louis School student Micah Alcisto was one of five teens invited to ask Pope Leo XIV a question at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Lucas Oil Stadium.
On Nov. 25, two days before Thanksgiving, Hope Services Hawaii hosted its annual Homeless Luncheon — an event celebrating community connection where unsheltered people in East Hawaii could receive a hot meal and access to other essential services.

December

On Dec. 1, the Diocese of Honolulu announced new boundary maps for nine parishes on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Top: Bishop Larry Silva delivered the homily during a celebration Mass May 2 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu marking his 50th jubilee of priestly ordination; center: A participant in the March for Life rally at the state Capitol Jan. 24 held up a sign as motorists passed by on Beretania Street; bottom: The traveling Jubilee cross on display at St. Jude Church in Kapolei. (HCH file photos)

Here are some of the people with a connection to the diocese who died in 2025:

Marianist Brother William “Bill” Bolts
Marianist Brother DuWayne Brisendine
Marianist Brother James Joseph Christiana
Marianist Father J. Allen DeLong
Father Elias “Eli” Escanilla
Danny Hashimoto
Dominican Sister Delfa Guillen
Alphonso “Al” Jones.
Dominican Mother Felicitas Macsera
Gloria Marks
Father Khanh Pham-Nguyen
Deacon Albert Phillips
Alice E. Secor
James “Jim” Severson
Deacon Joseph T. Soon
Franciscan Sister Mary Edward Sugioka
Patricia “Pat” Tossey