Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Prayers at the Advent wreath

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FIRST SUNDAY On the first Sunday of Advent, the family gathers to bless the wreath. The Leader, usually the father, sprinkles the wreath with holy water. Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord. All: Who made heaven and earth. Leader: Let us pray. O God, all things are made holy by your […]

Move to pass same-sex marriage bill provokes thousands to fight back

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The special state legislative session, called by Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Oct. 28 to add Hawaii to the list of 14 Mainland states that have legalized same-sex marriage, awakened a giant of populist opposition. Organized mostly by churches but moved by their own personal convictions, thousands of Hawaii citizens opposing same-sex marriage have showed up […]

Bishop Silva forms a task force to promote the spirituality of stewardship

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Members of the new Stewardship Task Force held a meeting at the diocesan chancery Oct. 26. In front from left to right are diocesan finance systems manager Diane Lamosao, task force co-chair Brandon Elefante, Sam Knepper, Office of Stewardship and Development coordinator Gloria Romuar, Father Stephen Macedo and Dale Webster. In the back row are […]

Legacy of a saint: 130 years of the Sisters of St. Francis in Hawaii

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One hundred thirty years ago, in 1883, St. Marianne Cope arrived with six sisters from Syracuse, N.Y., to the shores of the Sandwich Islands responding to a call to care for the kingdom’s poor abandoned natives. Since then, and without interruption, hundreds of Sisters of St. Francis have followed in the saint’s footsteps to serve […]

Sisters of St. Francis in Hawaii

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The Sisters of St. Francis who came to the Islands The first seven to arrive in 1883 Mother Marianne Cope Sister M Bonaventure Caraher Sister Crescentia Eilers Sister Ludovica Gibbons Sister M Rosalia McLaughlin Sister Renata Nash Sister Mary Antonella Murphy   Sister Leopoldina Burns, 1885 Sister Carolina Hoffmann, 1885 Sister Martha Kaiser, 1885 Sister […]

Aloha! Namaste! Visitors embody the Hawaii-India-Damien link

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Seven Indian Sacred Hearts priests visit St. Damien’s grave in Kalawao, Molokai, last month with their congregation’s U.S. provincial Father Jonathan Hurrell, far right. (Photo courtesy off the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts) Traveling over 7,400 miles, nearly the same distance that St. Damien de Veuster crossed on his journey from Belgium to Hawaii, seven […]

Waialua’s Benedictine priests incardinated into the diocese

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Father Michael Sawyer and Father David Barfknecht of the Benedictine Monastery in Waialua have been incardinated into the Diocese of Honolulu, Bishop Larry Silva announced in the official notices in this issue of the Hawaii Catholic Herald (See page 2). This change in association follows the monastery’s split last year from the Italy-based Olivetan Benedictine […]

New St. Michael Church, Kona, slowly emerging from solid footings

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The old parish coral grotto stands center amidst the excavations for the foundation of the new St. Michael Church.   It’s been seven years since the 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit off the shores of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii rousing residents and tourists from their beds and causing the church of St. Michael the Archangel to shudder. The […]

Hawaii’s new religious and clergy hail from the Philippines, India, Taiwan, New Jersey

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Here are some of the more recent arrivals of religious and clergy to Hawaii’s shores. Marianist Brother Mark Motz Campus minister, Chaminade Brother Motz is from West Chester, Ohio. He has an older brother and a younger sister. He graduated from the University of Dayton in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies. In […]