By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
An international slate of six deacons belonging to the U.S. Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts will be ordained priests over the next four months in five ceremonies from Tonga to Massachusetts, presided over by five bishops.
Father Lane Akiona, provincial superior of the U.S. province, said the ordinations bring him “thoughts of pure joy and gratefulness.”
“What a wonderful tribute as we prepare for our 200th anniversary of the Hawaiian mission in 2027. It will be a testament of our continued zeal for the mission of the church,” he said.
Hawaii was the first foreign mission of the Sacred Hearts Order, which was founded in France.
“We are truly blessed with the vocations of these young men who will help us foster a church for the 21st century,” Father Akiona said.
Fijian Deacon Patrick Joseph Tukidia was scheduled to be ordained at Our Lady of the Assumption in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Sept. 28, by Bishop Edgar da Cunha, Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts. The Sacred Hearts Congregation’s corporate office is in the Fall River diocese.
Deacon Suraj Kumar Sonwani will be ordained Nov. 16 in his hometown of Malkharoda, Chhattisgarh, in India, which is a region of the U.S. Sacred Hearts province.
Tongan Deacon Semisi Pulotu will be ordained on his home island of Vava’u, Tonga, on Dec. 15, by Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of the Diocese of Tonga.
Philippines native Deacon Eric Cruz and Deacon John Sawchenko, who grew up in San Diego, California, will be ordained together at Holy Name of Mary Church in San Dimas, California, Jan. 14, by Bishop David O’Connell, auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Holy Name of Mary Church, where Cruz is currently assigned, is staffed by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts.
Native Hawaiian Deacon Michael Kamauoha, who grew up on Oahu’s North Shore, will be ordained at St. Patrick Church, Honolulu, on Jan. 24 by Bishop Larry Silva.
“Definitely the internationality of these brothers has changed and challenged us to embrace a more culturally diverse way of doing ministry, especially in the U.S. context,” Father Akiona said.
“I’m grateful for those who worked hard as leaders, formators and mentors for these young men,” he said. “This is the fruit of their dedication.”
“The U.S. church is becoming more culturally diverse with the movement of immigrants from various parts of the world. The mood of the congregation is encouraging as we experience a good number of vocations from the various provinces or regions where we presently do ministry,” Father Akiona said.
Father Tukidia will be assigned to Hawaii, Father Sonwani to India. The first priestly assignments for Fathers Pulotu, Sawchenko, Cruz and Kamauoha are yet to be determined.
Most of the following profiles were compiled from information taken from the congregational website, sscc-usa.org.
Patrick Joseph Tukidia grew up the fifth of seven children on the island of Taveuni, Fiji, where the family worked for the Society of Mary religious congregation. Observing the priests and brothers led him to consider at an early age the possibility of embracing the religious life.
After earning a degree in information technology in Suva, Fiji, he worked for two years, then joined the Society of Mary. After four years in formation, he left to work as a teacher and again in information technology. Still feeling the tug of religious life, and inspired by the life of St. Damien, he joined the Sacred Hearts Congregation.
Tukidia was the first Fijian native to be ordained a deacon for the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts.
Suraj Kumar Sonwani, 29, was born in Malkharoda in the state of Chhattisgarh, the eldest of two sons and two daughters of Bhajan Lal and Heerabai Sonwani.
After finishing primary school, he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in 2012 at St. Damien Seminary, Bangalore. He did his novitiate and made his first profession in 2017. He completed his theology studies at Morning Star College Barrackpore, Kolkata.
Sonwani made his final profession and was ordained a deacon on May 10, 2022, by Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D’Souza. He will be ordained a priest in his hometown on Nov. 16.
Semisi Pulotu is from the small village of Toula in Tonga’s second island group known as Vava’u. The second youngest child of Viliami and Ane Pulotu, he has four sisters and seven brothers.
He was first attracted to religious life when he attended his eldest brother’s first vows ceremony in Fiji. The atmosphere and the community life caught his attention. From then on, he had a strong desire to answer the call.
When a Sacred Hearts priest in Tonga asked for Pulotu’s help moving his community to a new location, the experience cleared all doubt from Pulotu’s mind.
He has been with the Sacred Hearts Congregation ever since.
Eric Cruz was born and raised the third of four children in Pampanga, Philippines. A sickly child, he grew up in the care of his mother’s two sisters. After graduating from high school, he entered the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary at age 17 and stayed for four years.
He continued his studies at Holy Angel University, graduating with an English degree. He worked as a voice talent for a local radio station, at a bank and at a casino.
Different work environments taught him a lot of life lessons but did not fill his longing for the religious life, which he had felt since age 15.
He said God led him to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The community’s charism, especially its family charism, was what attracted him the most.
Deacon John Sawchenko grew up in a small family of four in San Diego, where he loved the active life, especially skateboarding. After receiving a bachelor’s in history from the University of California in Santa Cruz, he worked as a delivery driver for a small Italian restaurant with the intent to discover the next step in his life’s journey.
But depression at age 24 led to a mental health crisis. It was through prayer that he found profound peace.
Soon he was attending Mass daily at a Benedictine monastery, going to confession and getting psychiatric help.
“I felt like a new person” and the call to priesthood “became clear to my heart,” he said.
He chose the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts because of two priests who made a strong impression on him.
Deacon Michael “Maiki” Kamauoha, the eldest of four children of Allen and Mary Kamauoha, grew up in the Haleiwa/Waialua area on Oahu’s North Shore. He attended Kapiolani Community College and Leeward Community College before working five years at Zippy’s Restaurant and another five years for First Hawaiian Bank.
He first felt the pull of a religious calling as a high school sophomore at a diocesan youth day organized before the 2000 Synod of the Diocese of Honolulu. At the event, he found himself on stage in response to an invitation to those who thought they might have a vocation.
Twelve years later, he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, whose priests he had come to know and admire as they staffed his home parish of St. Michael in Waialua.
