By Chantal A. Duarte
Special to the Herald
In 1941, Sacred Hearts Father Raphael Smulders, looking to build a church on Kauai’s west side, negotiated an exchange with Kekaha Plantation of a parcel of land owned by the church for property more centrally located.
On January 21, 1941, in the hundredth year of the introduction of the Catholic faith on Kauai in Koloa, a new parish was born in Kekaha with the dedication of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church.
The ceremony was performed by the Sacred Hearts Father Victorinus Claesen, pro-vicar of the Hawaii vicariate, with the clergy of Kauai assisting.
St. Theresa was the third new church built on Kauai during the episcopacy of Bishop Stephen Alencastre. He had authorized its construction in 1940 but died before its completion.
Beginning on Oct. 1, 1944 through 1984, our parish was blessed to have Marist priests beginning with Father Joseph Roebeck and ending with him in 1984.
The Missionary Fathers of Our Lady of LaSalette began their service to our parish in 1985 with Father Jose Nacu and Father Conrad Blanchet and ending with Father Arnel Soriano 30 years later.
We are now blessed with Father Emerson “Boyet” Delos Reyes who became our parish administrator on July 1, 2015.
Our parish is the second oldest on Kauai with our mission, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church in Waimea, built in 1899. Some stories, which we are unable to verify, indicate that church burned down sometime in the 1920s and the rebuilt one is what we use today.
St. Theresa School and our parish hall were built in 1956 by the hard work and dedication of many parishioners before us.
Tragedy struck St. Theresa Church in 1977 when the original church burned down, but like a Phoenix, it rose from the ashes to the modern church we use today.
We have been blessed tremendously by the generations of parishioners that are still a part of our parish today and those who have become a part of our parish ohana over the years! As “intentional disciple”’ of Jesus, we will continue the hard work and dedication of those that came before us in spreading the Gospel message and helping others on their discipleship journey!
