By Lisa Dahm
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Father Santiago “Sunny” Ner was beloved in the Diocese of Honolulu for his indefatigable smile and for the love and care he showed his parishioners and fellow clergy at St. Joseph Church in Waipahu and St. Joseph Church in Makawao.
Father Ner, a Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette priest from the Mother of Hope Province in the Philippines, died Oct. 10 in the Philippines, where he had taken up residence in the La Salette Silang Retirement House. He was 88 years old and 56 years professed.
He was buried at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Biga, Silang, Cavite, Philippines, where he once served as director.
La Salette Father Geronimo “Eric” Castro, pastor of St. Joseph in Waipahu, said Father Ner was his spiritual director during his formation years in the seminary and even while both served together in Maui. He said that Father Ner was best known for his deep, active outreach in the community.
“He dedicated much of his time to visiting and supporting our elderly parishioners, showering them with his joyful and loving presence,” Father Castro said.
From doctor to priest
Santiago “Sunny” Ner was born to Salvador Ner and Leonida Licenanan on Dec. 31, 1937, in Santiago, Isabela, Philippines.
He attended Far Eastern University in Manila and earned a doctor of medicine degree in 1961. However, according to Father Castro, he was so moved by the American La Salette missionaries who were stationed in the Philippines that he gave up a promising medical career to become a priest.
In 1965, he entered the novitiate in New Hampshire and took his first vows for the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette in 1966 in Meredith, New Hampshire.
He made his perpetual profession three years later in Centre Harbor, New Hampshire, and was ordained to the priesthood in his home city of Santiago on July 18, 1970.
According to Father Castro, Father Ner served in a range of formation roles for the La Salette order in the Philippines, including director of scholastics, master of novices and spiritual director for seminarians. He also held positions on evaluation boards, formation commissions and at one point was provincial vicar.
“He brought a spirit of dedication that transformed every community he touched,” Father Castro said.
Working in Hawaii
Father Ner was allowed to minister overseas in 2000, according to Father Castro, and began his U.S. ministry in California.
In 2004, he arrived in Makawao to serve as administrator of St. Joseph Church. Four years later, he flew to Oahu and became pastor of St. Joseph Church in Waipahu.
“The qualities I most admired about Father Sunny were his profound generosity, his pastoral heart and his unwavering commitment to the La Salette charism of reconciliation,” Father Castro said.
Father Ner was also widely known for his love of cooking, and Father Castro said he regularly prepared meals for clergy and the Dominican sisters regardless of the occasion.
Father Castro said that most of the La Salette fathers who currently serve in the Diocese of Honolulu now were “formed by the joyful pastoral and spiritual care of Father Ner.”
“Throughout my formation years (1988-1999) and during our ministry together in Hawaii, he consistently emphasized the value of ‘constant loving, constant forgiving,’” Father Castro said. “He did not just preach these principles — he truly lived them out.”
Deacon Keith Galang, who was ordained in 2007 and recently retired from St. Joseph in Waipahu, said Father Ner arrived shortly after his ordination.
“As a new clergyman, he made me feel like I belonged,” Deacon Galang said. “He never treated me like I was the new guy.”
Deacon Galang recalled that during one day of reflection, Father Ner said something that was life-changing for the deacon — that we are all “participants of the ‘I am who am.’”
“The word ‘participants’ caught my attention because it gave a clear picture of who we are in this divine plan,” Deacon Galang said. “That gave me a whole new perspective. Although we’re not the one in the driver’s seat, we’re part of the plan. God invites us to join him.”
Deacon Galang also recalled a time when Father Ner was feeling ill during Mass and stopped for a moment in pain. He got up and continued celebrating the liturgy until the end.
“He had a willpower to get through the tough times,” Deacon Galang said. “(He was) a soft-spoken gentleman with a lot of wisdom.”
On Oct. 28, St. Joseph parishioners in Waipahu held a memorial Mass to honor and pray for the La Salette priest.
Frances Abreu, also a longtime lay leader and parishioner, said in an interview before the memorial Mass that it was difficult for her to describe Father Ner with “mere words.”
“For me, he was a wonderful spiritual leader, down-to-earth, with a great sense of humor,” Abreu said. “I found him to be strict but approachable, humble and compassionate.”
Irene Sandry, a longtime lay leader and parishioner at St. Joseph in Waipahu, also has fond memories of her cherished former pastor.
“(He was) always so kind and compassionate…a priestly priest, servant of God,” Sandry said before the memorial Mass. “A hui hou, Father Sunny.”