Bishop ordains 13 deacons in four ceremonies

Deacon Eric Kim, right, congratulates newly ordained Deacon Joseph Soon at the Jan. 31 ceremony. (HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)

After a five-year journey of formation, 13 local men have fulfilled their dreams of entering into diaconal ministry.

The diocese’s seventh class of permanent deacons was ordained by Bishop Larry Silva last month during four Masses on three islands.

The new deacons are:

• Joseph P. Aglia, 71, Pahala, Big Island
• Jose R. Almuena Jr., 52, Honolulu
• Jose L. Ancheta, 61, Kapolei
• Keith A. Cabiles, 36, Kalihi
• William R. Friese, 63, Kapolei
• Romeo E. Ganibe, 61, Mililani
• David E. Kane, 62, Lihue, Kauai
• Eric W. Kim, 53, Ewa Beach
• Stephen A. Kula, 65, Hawaii Kai
• Raul A. Perez, 51, Kapolei
• Joseph T. Soon, 43, Honolulu
• John R. Tolentino, 59, Waikane
• Michael E. Weaver, 62, Kailua

Their ordinations delivered a whirlwind of joy and celebration for their families, friends and parish communities.

Kauai

Deacon David E. Kane was ordained Jan. 17 at his home parish of Immaculate Conception in Lihue, Kauai. His wife Anne, who attended classes with other deacon wives as part of the formation program, was at his side for the ceremony.

Already a few weeks into his diaconate ministry, Deacon Kane has been busy. The first of his class to be ordained, he assisted at the altar at the ordinations of all his other classmates.

At his parish, besides liturgical service, the new deacon has already been involved in

finance, stewardship, marriage and baptism preparation and applications for annulments.

“I feel thankful to God for his calling, and I am adjusting to my new vocation,” he wrote in a Feb. 5 email to the Hawaii Catholic Herald.

He explained that the biggest adjustment since ordination has been moving from “the world of a business executive, which is a world of ‘doing,’ to the world of the clergy … a world of ‘being’ for others.”

“I need to learn to leave time to be available to others according to their needs, not mine, and to leave plenty of time for prayer and reflection,” he said.

Deacon Kane said he is very grateful for the support of Kauai’s Catholic community. He cites “great mentors” in the island’s veteran deacons Tom Contrades and Bill Farias, as well as Father Gerry Somera, the pastor at Immaculate Conception.

He said he is also “greatly indebted” to Bishop Silva for his “caring, loving, and pastoral leadership and example.”

Most of all, Deacon Kane thanks his parish ohana for being “incredibly supportive, helpful and prayerful.”

“Please pray for me as I work to adjust to my new life,” he said.

Big Island

The ordination of Big Island Deacon Joseph P. Aglia drew about 300 people to St. Joseph Church in Hilo on Jan. 24.

Aglia and his wife Donata are parishioners at Holy Rosary Church in the quiet town of Pahala. Their tiny home parish, about an hour’s drive south of Hilo, would not have been able to accommodate the large congregation for the ordination Mass.

The ordination was especially poignant for Deacon Aglia. When he applied for the formation program in 2008, he was surprised to have even been accepted.

Donata Aglia was very ill that year. Days before she was scheduled to undergo surgery for breast cancer, she suffered a stroke that left her unable to talk. Months afterward, she was also found to have thyroid cancer and had to endure another surgery.

Deacon Aglia said Donata’s medical condition, and his age, left him with doubts about entering the program. He nevertheless took a chance.

“Something just led us to go to that orientation,” Deacon Aglia told the Hawaii Catholic Herald by phone from the Big Island Feb. 5.

“I guess it’s God’s calling, yeah?” he added.

The Aglias traveled to Oahu almost every month for a weekend for classes and ministry preparation during the five years of formation. They only missed one class because Donata wasn’t feeling well.

“We managed to do it with God’s help,” Deacon Aglia said. “There’s some point that we just want to give up, but then God says, ‘Nope!’”

Donata is now able to speak again. She was radiant when she served as the lector at her husband’s ordination Mass.

She said she feels “healthy and happy.”

Deacon Aglia preached his first homily at Holy Rosary Church in Pahala on Jan. 25. Energized by that experience, he is eager for other opportunities to serve the parish. The new deacon will also spend time assisting at Sacred Heart Church in neighboring Naalehu, which shares clergy with Holy Rosary.

Donata Aglia is thankful that she and her husband can give back to her humble hometown.

“We came back to the same place where I grew up,” she said. “It’s God’s plan, to come back in there and help the people.”

Oahu I

Five men from Leeward and Central Oahu were ordained in an evening liturgy Jan. 30 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.

The church was packed to witness Bishop Silva administer holy orders on Jose L. Ancheta, William R. Friese, Romeo E. Ganibe, Eric W. Kim and Raul A. Perez.

About 20 priests concelebrated.

During the rite, each candidate responded “Present” when called to the sanctuary and presented to Bishop Silva for ordination. The congregation then assented to their worthiness by responding, “Thanks be to God!”

After Bishop Silva’s homily, the candidates were again summoned to the altar and asked five questions by the bishop regarding their responsibilities as deacons. The candidates acknowledged their willingness to take on these duties by responding, “I do.”

Each candidate then knelt before the bishop and pledged his obedience to the shepherd of the diocese.

During the chanted “Litany of Supplication” that followed, the congregation prayed to a long list of saints as the candidates lay prostrate at the altar.

The men then got up and knelt in a row in front of the bishop who laid his hands on each of their heads, silently invoking the Holy Spirit to raise them to the order of deacon.

The bishop then recited a blessing over the men.

The new deacons went back to their pews to receive their dalmatics, the vestments of the deacon. They later returned to the sanctuary, each kneeling in front of the bishop to be presented with the Book of the Gospels.

The rite ended with about 25 Island deacons lining up to greet their newly ordained brothers with bear hugs and words of congratulations.

As in the other ordination ceremonies, the deacons’ wives were honored at the end of the liturgy. Carmelita Ancheta, Lek Friese, Susan Ganibe, Mela Kim and Annabelle Perez were given certificates and special pins by formation program co-director Kathy Coughlin.

In the days following their ordinations, Deacons Perez and Friese have been assisting with ministries at their home parish of St. Jude. Deacon Ancheta, also of St. Jude, has been assigned to serve at Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio.

Deacons Kim and Ganibe have begun their diaconate work at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church and St. John Apostle and Evangelist Church, respectively.

Oahu II

The final six deacons — candidates from Windward Oahu and Honolulu — were ordained in another vibrant liturgy at St. Theresa Co-Cathedral Jan. 31.

Ordained were Jose R. Almuena, John R. Tolentino, Joseph T. Soon, Keith A. Cabiles, Stephen A. Kula and Michael E. Weaver.

Deacon Tolentino, the only single man ordained, made a pledge of celibacy during the Mass. Attending the ceremony were three of his brothers and one sister. After his ordination, Deacon Tolentino said he felt “greatly blessed” and “full of joy.”

He said he is looking forward to ministry in his parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Waikane. He was scheduled to assist at Sunday Mass there the next day.

Deacon Almuena said after the ordination liturgy that he, too, is eager to deepen his service at his home church. He, his wife Easter and his family participate in a number of ministries at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. Three of their children were Mass servers for their father’s ordination.

“It was awesome,” he said of the ceremony. Speaking for his family, Deacon Almuena said, “We’re relieved and excited for the cathedral we serve.”

Deacon Kula used the word “overwhelmed” to describe how he was feeling following the ordination. The five years of preparation, he said, were “very well worth it.” He described the ceremony as the “equivalent of getting married.”

His first homily was scheduled for that evening’s 5 p.m. Mass at Holy Trinity Church, his parish for the past 50 years. In addition to parish work, Deacon Kula also looks forward to doing prison ministry in the future.

“It’s very satisfying,” he said.

His wife, Debbie, who served as lector for the Jan. 31 ordination Mass, said she has “a sense that we will be finding more ways to joyfully serve the Lord and his people.”

Deacon Weaver also described his ordination as “overwhelming.” He said he thought of his father, the late Jerome Weaver who was ordained in the diocese’s second class of deacons, “all through the service.” Weaver said his father was his “inspiration” for pursuing ordination.

Although he admitted that he was “a little anxious about what lies ahead,” Deacon Weaver said he feels “really prepared” to serve the church in different capacities.

“I am looking forward to working in hospice,” he said. “I find it really meaningful.”

He was scheduled to preach his first sermon the next day at St. Anthony in Kailua, where he and his wife Cecelia have been longtime parishioners.

Deacon Soon said he felt “blessed to be able to offer myself to God.” Of his ordination, he said he is simply “an unworthy servant” — “an instrument of Christ” to “care for the needs of my brothers and sisters.”

He and his wife Onolata are parishioners at Blessed Sacrament Church in Pauoa, where he was scheduled to preach the following weekend.

Deacon Cabiles, a parishioner at St. Anthony Church in Kalihi, was the youngest to be ordained at age 36. His wife Hazell and two young daughters Kacie and Hailey were at the ordination ceremony.

Deacon Cabiles assisted at his first Saturday Vigil Mass hours after his ordination on Jan. 31. As part of his homily in his second Mass at St. Anthony at 6:30 a.m. the following morning, he thanked the parish community and his family for their support of his vocation.

Deacon Coughlin’s thoughts

Deacon John Coughlin and his wife Kathy, co-directors of the diocese’s deacon formation program, attended each of the ordination Masses.

In a Feb. 5 email, Deacon Coughlin said that he and Kathy “had tears in our eyes at all of the ordinations … tears of joy, hope and happiness!”

“We have come to know and love these men and their wives as family,” he said. “We have come to know what these men offer to the church and their communities in the way of service and witness to Jesus. Their wives are equally committed and will, in their own way, lend a strong witness as well.”

Deacon Coughlin said he and Kathy have received “very positive and complimentary” comments from parishioners about the newest deacon class.

The Coughlins and their formation team are already preparing the eighth class of deacons who will be ordained in the next couple of years. They are also recruiting men for the diocese’s ninth deacon class, which is scheduled to begin its five-year formation in 2016.

He encourages men who are interested in the diaconate to visit www.catholichawaii.org/formation for details on upcoming “Inquiry Weekends” and the application process.

The deacon formation staff will also continue to aid the newly ordained deacons of Class 7 with a three-year “Post-Ordination Formation” program that begins in May.

“There is never a dull day in the (deacon) formation office,” Deacon Coughlin said. “The program is alive and well. We like it that way!”