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August
8, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 14Oakland,
CA
History of Church in Hawaii includes anti-Catholicism
While Hawaii is known as the land of surf, sun and the
hula, the Catholic Church has carved out a distinct and sometimes turbulent
history in the nation’s 50th state.
The first Catholic missionaries, members of the Congregation of the Sacred
Hearts of Jesus and Mary, arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in the summer
of 1827. The order, also known as the Picpus Fathers, reportedly celebrated
the first Mass in Honolulu on July 13 of that year.
Although the Picpus Fathers quickly became involved in Hawaiian society,
they encountered fierce opposition from rival missionaries, mostly Congregationalists
from New England, who were on friendly terms with the Hawaiian royal family.
The Congregationalists used their influence with the Queen Regent Kaahumanu
and her son Kamehameha III to enact an anti-Catholic policy.
The first Picpus priests, Father Alexis Bachelot of France and Father
Patrick Short of England, were expelled from the kingdom in 1831 and deported
to southern California, leaving two Brothers in Honolulu.
Anti-Catholic repression
After the priests were expelled, native Hawaiians who had converted to
Catholicism likewise found themselves targeted by violence and imprisonment.
The Congregationalist ministers claimed this mistreatment of Catholics
had been “ordained by God.”
When another Picpus priest, Father Arsenius Walsh, came to Honolulu in
1836, the royal family barred his entry until the captain of a French
navy ship convinced the king to let him stay. The royal government then
allowed the Picpus Fathers to work freely in the islands as long as they
refrained from converting native Hawaiians.
The following year, thinking the worst was over, Fathers Bachelot and
Short returned to Honolulu only to be forced back on their ship, but after
the American and British consuls came forward on their behalf, the king
allowed them to debark.
When the French government sent a ship to Honolulu in 1839 to further
press the cause of religious freedom for Catholics, King Kamehameha III,
fearing an attack, issued the Edict of Toleration, giving Catholics the
freedom to worship.
The sovereign also donated land to the Catholic Church for the construction
of the first permanent church building. In July 1840 ground was broken
for the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, the mother church of the present
Diocese of Honolulu. Located at 1184 Bishop St. in Honolulu, the cathedral
is believed to be the oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the
U.S.
Encouraged by the new air of religious freedom, Bishop Etienne Jerome
Rouchouze, who served as the Apostolic Vicar of Oceania, decided to move
his headquarters from Chile to Honolulu. He also initiated the expansion
of mission churches to the islands of Hawaii (the Big Island), Maui, Kauai,
and Niihau.
Vicariate era
Bishop Rouchouze returned to France in 1842 to recruit more Picpus Fathers
and religious Brothers to serve the growing Catholic community in Hawaii.
However, tragedy struck in 1843 when the bishop’s ship was lost
at sea on the return trip.
Father Louis Maigret, a French priest who had once been exiled by the
royal government, took temporary control of the Church in Hawaii before
officially succeeding Bishop Rouchouze as head of the new Apostolic Vicariate
of the Sandwich Islands, created by Pope Pius IX in 1847.
From 1847 through 1940 five members of the Congregation of the Sacred
Hearts served as Apostolic Vicars of the Sandwich Islands.
During this period, churches and schools developed on the islands, and
the Catholic population grew to include new residents from the Philippines,
Poland, Portugal, and Spain. So many Portuguese Catholics came from the
Azores, such as the great-grandparents of the newly ordained Honolulu
Bishop Larry Silva, that many churches offered Portuguese language liturgies.
A new diocese
The growing number of Catholics led Pope Pius XII to elevate the apostolic
vicariate to the status of an independent diocese, and the new Diocese
of Honolulu was created in January 1941 with Father James Joseph Sweeney,
a priest from the Archdiocese of San Francisco, as the first bishop of
Honolulu. He served from 1941-1967.
During his term, Bishop Sweeney shepherded the Catholic community through
the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the war that followed. He built numerous
parishes and schools, and helped to usher Catholics through the changes
following the Second Vatican Council.
The second bishop of Honolulu, John J. Scanlan (1968-1981) oversaw a period
of great growth and development in the state and was known as a strong
voice for the pro-life movement.
During his term as Honolulu’s third bishop, Joseph A. Ferrario (1982-1993)
encouraged Catholics to become more involved in social ministry, liturgy
and parish ministry. He received criticism for openly ministering to the
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community of Hawaii.
Bishop Francis Xavier DiLorenzo, the fourth bishop of Honolulu (1994-2004),
oversaw a major overhaul of diocesan policy and structure, instituted
the first known zero-tolerance policy concerning priests accused of child
molestation, and established the Hawaii Catholic Conference.
Bishop Clarence (Larry) Silva became the fifth bishop of Honolulu on May
17. He was ordained bishop and installed on July 21.
Father James Sweeney of San Francisco became the first bishop of Honolulu
on May 20, 1942. Seven months later the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and
the new bishop organized a Crusade of Prayer for the many servicemen who
flooded the islands.
Father John Scanlan, an Ireland native serving the
San Francisco Archdiocese, was named auxiliary bishop of Honolulu in 1954
and became the second bishop of Honolulu upon the death of Bishop Sweeney
in 1967.
