Brothers of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary stand at the altar of St. Patrick Church in Kaimuki, Nov. 12. From left are Sacred Hearts Brothers William Gural, Darius Amansec, Eric Cruz and Saia Fainga’a, who made their first or temporary vows, and Brothers Michael Kamauoha and Jeremy Sabugo, who made their final professions.
Story and photos by Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Brother Sabugo kneels before Sacred Hearts Father Johnathan Hurrell.
A local brother of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary will soon take his final major step toward becoming a priest of the religious order.
Waialua native Jeremy Sabugo, 28, will be ordained a “transitional deacon” Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. at St. Patrick Church in Kaimuki. Bishop Larry Silva will be the main presider of the Mass and ordination rite, which will be celebrated on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
As a transitional deacon, Sacred Hearts Brother Sabugo will be able to assist at Masses by proclaiming the Gospel, preaching and aiding the priest celebrant during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The “transitional” diaconate differs from the “permanent” diaconate, the latter being a distinct ministry for men who are usually married.
Brother Sabugo is scheduled to wrap up his last few months of studies and priestly formation in 2017.
He is among a number of men who have joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in recent years. The order — to which St. Damien of Molokai belonged — has been fostering vocations here and abroad through its missionary spirit.
Making perpetual vows
In a lively, multicultural Mass Nov. 12, Sacred Hearts Brothers Sabugo and Michael Kamauoha made their final professions of vows. Roughly 200 people gathered in Kaimuki that morning to witness their milestone of faith at St. Patrick Church.
Brother Kamauoha, 32, is from Haleiwa. He and Brother Sabugo are parishioners of St. Michael Church in Waialua, which has long been administered by Sacred Hearts priests.
Sacred Hearts superior Father Johnathan Hurrell was the main celebrant at the Nov. 12 liturgy. During the Rite of Religious Profession, Father Hurrell asked Brothers Sabugo and Kamauoha several questions about their desire to join the Sacred Hearts Congregation and their readiness to dedicate themselves to God.
Brothers Sabugo and Kamauoha then were called forward to lay prostrate before the altar on woven mats brought out by members of the Tongan Catholic community. The congregation chanted the Litany of Saints as the religious brothers prayed facedown, invoking the intercession of those in heaven for blessings and strength.
After making their perpetual vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, Brothers Sabugo and Kamauoha were greeted by the Sacred Hearts Fathers in attendance, as well as nuns of the religious order.
Brother Kamauoha, a Kahuku High School alum, is headed back to Fiji to complete his third year of studies at Pacific Regional Seminary. Before the Sacred Hearts post-novitiate program moved to the South Pacific, he attended Chaminade University in Honolulu and Holy Names University in California.
At this point, Kamauoha is considered a religious brother discerning the priesthood.
Brother Sabugo is in his seventh and final year of theological studies at Pacific Regional Seminary. According to Sacred Hearts Father Richard McNally, post-novitate program director, Brother Sabugo will return to Fiji for parish ministry after he is ordained a deacon.
Prior to joining the Sacred Hearts, Brother Sabugo earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Hawaii. His religious formation has included service work in places such as Mexico, India, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
He said it has been a blessing “to work with many Sacred Hearts brothers and sisters whose guidance speaks of humility and service.”
“The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary truly operates on a family basis which engulfs each member to be compassionate and obedient,” Brother Sabugo told the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
Brothers Kamauoha and Sabugo were among the first men in the congregation to make their first vows after the Sacred Hearts Hawaii province merged with the East Coast province in November 2011 to form the U.S. province.
Four Sacred Hearts novices professed their first, or temporary, vows at the Nov. 12 liturgy at St. Patrick Church. They are Sacred Hearts Brothers Darius Amansec, 44, and Eric Cruz, 37, of the Philippines; Saia Fainga’a, 24, of Tonga; and William Gural, 54, from Plainfield, New Jersey.
Wave of vocations
Father Hurrell, superior of the order’s U.S. province, shared at the Nov. 12 Mass that the religious order has been busy bringing up several newly entered novices as well as a class of 11 students in formation from the South Pacific.
The wave of vocations has been exciting for the Sacred Hearts congregation.
Father Hurrell told the Hawaii Catholic Herald that this “boom” stems from several factors. First, the unification of several provinces into a single U.S. province “allowed for a wider effort in telling our story and being able to welcome possible candidates.”
A “pooling of resources” has made possible the creation of a comprehensive formation program with diverse staff and sites for studies and service work.
In 2013, Hawaii-born Sacred Hearts Father Clyde Guerreiro joined other Sacred Hearts priests in starting a new mission for the order on the outskirts of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga.
According to Sacred Hearts Father McNally, a “pre-novitiate” program in Tonga allows young men to “transition to religious life, to begin to learn something about the congregation and to address any basic human issues.”
Tonga does not have its own diocesan seminary. Pacific Regional Seminary in neighboring Fiji provides education and formation for many South Pacific dioceses, as well as five religious communities including the Sacred Hearts.
Father Hurrell noted that the South Pacific islands have welcomed the Sacred Hearts mission warmly.
“When we opened in Tonga and Fiji we received vocations earlier than anticipated,” he said.
“In a rather poetic sense, we are the only religious congregation and province that sees the birth of a new day with Tonga, and the last to say good night to the same day in Hawaii,” Father Hurrell added, in reference to the International date line.
The U.S. provincial believes the order is experiencing a renaissance thanks to “trust in God, trust in those brothers who have been appointed as pastors, local superiors and formators, a good dose of ‘subsidiarity’ and humbly asking Christ to be the center of it all.”
Father Pierre Coudrin and Mother Henriette Aymer de la Chevalerie founded the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in France on Dec. 24, 1800. Next year marks the 200th anniversary of Rome’s approval of the order.
Sacred Hearts missionaries brought the Catholic faith to Hawaii in 1827.
Local parishes presently served by priests and brothers of the order include St. Ann, Kaneohe; St. Michael, Waialua; St. Augustine, Waikiki; St. Patrick, Kaimuki; Our Lady of Sorrows, Wahiawa; St. Damien, Kaunakakai, Molokai; St. Francis, Kalaupapa.
Men interested in religious life with the Sacred Hearts can contact Sacred Hearts Father Joseph Pasala at (508) 993-2442 ext. 205, or email vocations@sscc.org.
Donations to help with financial support for seminarians and religious formation can be made online at www.sscc.org or by phone at (808) 247-5035 ext. 111.
Contributions may be sent as well by mail to: Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, U.S. Province, P.O. Box 1365, Kaneohe, HI 96744-1365.
