Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Annual appeal helps religious communities care for aging members

by

The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be held Dec. 7-8 in the Diocese of Honolulu. The parish-based appeal is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office. Proceeds help hundreds of U.S. religious communities to care for aging members. Some 30,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests benefit, including some in Hawaii. […]

Sister Otelia Fortaleza, Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary: When Jesus calls, we need to respond

by

VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald “Aunty, aunty! Let’s go outside and play now,” the children often call to me. Sometimes they grab my hand, tug at the scapular of my religious habit, or even my leg wanting me to go with them. “Aunty, I need my bottle […]

Father Efren Tomas, Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

by

Viriditas: Soul Greening Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald Reflecting on the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, there are two women who stand before us in the scriptural readings, Elizabeth and Mary, who are conscious of being filled with God’s blessings and goodness to them. In the Holy […]

Sister Rita Kane, Maryknoll Sisters: From teacher to probation officer, helping Hawaii’s children

by

VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald My first missionary assignment in Hawaii took me to the island of Oahu where I became a teacher at St. Anthony School in Kalihi. Following that ministry, I was assigned to the Maui Children’s Home on the island of Maui. In my […]

Sister Assumpta John Theresa of the Risen Christ, Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns: The language of faith, hope and love

by

VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald “Our language is the most important part of our being. I think it is important to learn other languages, because it helps us to learn about other peoples and cultures. The most important one, however, that we can learn is our own […]

Help arrives for religious vocations derailed by student debt

by

By Melissa Enaje Catholic News Service FRESH MEADOWS, N.Y. — “Yes, there is a vocation crisis, but we have to realize student loans are a substantial inhibitor to our vocations and the people wanting to give their lives,” said Norvilia Etienne, a recent New York City college graduate. In 2018, the parishioner from Holy Family […]

Sister Maria Emma Quijada, Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines: My mission is completed

by

VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald It has been 27 years since I started my mission in Hawaii. I have loved being with the people, my community and everyone I met. From my first assignment of teaching at St. John the Baptist School in Kalihi onward to the […]

Father Ajith Kumar Antony Dass, Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary: In the footsteps of Father Damien

by

VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald When I showed my family members on a map where I was going, in a blue sea with a few dots, they said, “Oh, that is far. You are going there?” But I knew that Hawaii was a very special to me […]

Sister Mary Angelica of God the Father, Order of Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel: Soaked in the rain of God’s love

by

VIRIDITAS: SOUL GREENING Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Hawaii Catholic Herald Our Carmelite monastery is located off the Pali Highway. Being on the Windward side of the island, we frequently experience rain. No wonder the grounds around the monastery teem with life: vast evergreen vegetation, trees laden with fruits that we all enjoy, […]

Years served only hint at Isle jubilarians’ immeasurable impact

by

  By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Seventy years. Sixty years. Fifty years. Twenty-five years. Adding up the decades is how we feebly try to measure the immeasurable impact of the 33 Hawaii religious men and women and priests honored on the anniversaries of their religious commitment to God and humanity at a special morning […]