By Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Special to the Herald
“I only want to go to Mass.”
That was Zita Leimomi Mookini Lum’s simple request for her 100th birthday. She did not want a party; she only wanted the Eucharist. Yet what unfolded became something far greater: a reunion nearly a century in the making.
Birthdays before, I had taken her to the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, as well as to Sts. Peter and Paul Church and Mary, Star of the Sea Church. But this time, I wondered: “What if she could celebrate her milestone with the family of religious, she grew up with and always talks about?”
I reached out first to Sacred Hearts Father Jeremy Sabugo. Then I contacted Sister Irene Barboza, provincial superior of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, who in turn consulted with Sister Katherine Francis Miller. Soon, plans were set.
On April 29, Sister Helene Wood, superior of Malia O Ka Malu, warmly welcomed Leimomi and her family to join in a most memorable celebration.
“Oh, the love of Christ has gathered us together…” the sisters sang, their voices resplendent as they opened the Mass with “Makalapua — God is Love.”
In his homily, Father Sabugo reflected on her century of life — “100 years of sunrises and sunsets, of laughter and tears, of joys and sorrows that seemed ordinary at the time but proved to be anything but.” He continued, “Christ came into the world as light so that everyone who believes in him might not remain in darkness. This is a love letter for all of us.”
After Mass, Leimomi was introduced to Sister Herman Julie Aki. Both had attended Sacred Hearts Academy and would have graduated together in 1945, but World War II had intervened, sending Leimomi instead to McKinley High School.
“I used to sell gardenias for the children at the orphanage in Kalihi,” she shared over lunch. “When I couldn’t sell them all, I would go to the Queen Mother, Lydia Liliuokalani Kawananakoa, on Judd Street. She would lift me up in her arms and buy them all.”
Sister Rose Henry Reeves chimed in, “You must have known my mother, Rose Simerson Reeves, at St. Anthony’s Home.” “Yes, Aunty Rose!” Leimomi replied with delight. “See how old I am!” Everyone laughed.
The conversation turned to the sisters who had taught them. “Do you remember Sister Gertrude Lum? Or Sister Benedicta?” Sister Katherine asked.
“In those days,” Leimomi explained, “there was a free side and a paid side of the school. They may have been teaching on the other side.” She was recalling the old Sacred Hearts Convent on Fort Street.
At the convent school on Bates Street in Nuuanu, Leimomi remembered how the sisters taught them to always ask for a priest’s blessing. Knowing one priest visited daily at noon, she would wait for him.
“Seeing me, he would call out, ‘Cherie!’ and I would answer, ‘Father, bless me.’ He could not pass until he did so.”
Other memories included Sister Charlotte, her piano teacher, and Sister Mary Magdalene, “who had a bamboo stick,” Leimomi said with a grin. “I used to get it. She was my mother’s cousin.” More laughter broke out.
Names and faces resurfaced: Sister Georgene Perry, her best friend; Sister Julie Louise Thevenin, the Hawaiian with green eyes.
“Who is the Mother Superior now?” Leimomi finally asked.
“The youngest of the bunch,” Sister Katherine replied, gesturing toward Sister Irene. “Her mother and I graduated from the Academy in 1957.”
As Sister Helene brought out the birthday cakes, Sister Rose Henry sat to play the piano. After singing “Happy Birthday,” the sisters sang to the same tune: “May the Sacred Hearts bless you.” Truly a wonderful reunion at 100.
Above: The attendees at Zita Leimomi Mookini Lum’s birthday celebration included many Sacred Hearts sisters. Front row, from left: Lum, Sister Herman Julie Aki, Sister Angela Gregorio and Sister Marie Lemert. Standing, from left: Sister Helene Wood, Sister Dolores Pavao, Sister Katherine Francis Miller, Sister Rose Henry Reeves, Sister Jane Francis Leandro and Sister Irene Barboza. (Courtesy Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP)