Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

East Hawaii community celebrates Akau’s ordination

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Hawaii Catholic Herald HILO — Before a full congregation of family, friends and faithful from across the state, John Jacob Akau took another step toward becoming a priest in the Diocese of Honolulu. Bishop Larry Silva ordained the Hawaii island native to the diaconate July 12 at St. Joseph Church in Hilo, with two dozen […]

Bishop Larry Silva: ordination Mass homily

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Excerpts from Bishop Larry Silva’s homily during Mass celebrating the ordination to the diaconate of John Jacob Akau: “The plan of Jesus is to have his Gospel erupt from Jerusalem and grow to cover the entire world, and that was fulfilled in a dramatic way by the missionaries who came to set this part of […]

Reflection: Walking with our shepherd: Celebrating a humble, steady leader

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By Anthony Selvanathan Special to the Herald The year was 2005. I was a 12-year-old altar server at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu. One Sunday while preparing for Mass, our altar server coordinator, Jonathan Farinas, shared that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed a new bishop for the Diocese of Honolulu: […]

Leadership institute forms the ‘now’ of the church

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By Lisa Gomes Special to the Herald Each summer, the Christian Leadership Institute offers a powerful reminder of the vibrancy and potential of our young church — and this year was no different. Organized by the Diocese of Honolulu’s Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, CLI gathers high school men and women, recommended by their parishes […]

Talk story: Following in the footsteps of Hawaii’s saints

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Office for Social Ministry “We who live here in Hawaii are very blessed and privileged to be the heirs of the story of Sts. Father Damien and Mother Marianne, who served the poorest and most needy among us.” (Bishop Larry Silva, “Following Footsteps” YouTube video for the Office for Social Ministry) This month, word is […]

Serving brings purpose and joy to St. Michael parishioners’ lives

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By Catholic Stewardship Consultants www.CatholicSteward.com While stewardship involves the gifts of talent and treasure, there’s a third element that might make people hesitate — time. For Stan and Cookie Haanio, this part of stewardship is where they’ve seen God move the most. “Just being able to help is the highlight of stewardship,” Cookie Haanio said. “Having […]

Herald picks up 6 awards at Catholic Media Conference

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Hawaii Catholic Herald The Hawaii Catholic Herald picked up six journalism awards at the Catholic Media Association’s Catholic Media Conference June 27 in Phoenix, Arizona, for work done in 2024. The newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu won first place for “Best Reporting on a Special Age Group — Children and Teens Younger than 18” […]

Knights of Columbus welcome 2025-26 state officers, district deputies

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By Robert Camilleri Special to the Herald On June 14 at St. Jude Church in Kapolei, Knights of Columbus state deputy Lito Alvarez installed the organization’s 2025-26 state council officers and district deputies. Alvarez was previously installed on June 6 by Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly at St. Mary Church in New Haven, Connecticut, the […]

A priesthood journey filled with twists and turns

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By Celia K. Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald John Jacob Akau can trace his “long and winding” journey to becoming a priest back to his childhood in Pahala, on Hawaii island. Akau, 39, would celebrate pretend Mass — “playing priest with sandwich bread,” he said, a towel tied around his neck to resemble a vestment. And […]

Planting seeds of hope

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Catholics across the country get to view and venerate first-class relics of St. Damien and St. Marianne By Celia K. Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald St. Damien de Veuster and St. Marianne Cope have touched countless lives as their legacies of selfless ministry, compassion and faith in Kalaupapa, Molokai, have been shared across the globe. A […]