Clarence Richard Silva (born August 6, 1949), known as Larry Silva, is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu since 2005. Silva is the first priest born in Hawaii to become bishop of Honolulu and the second one of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

/Azorean ancestry. Previous to becoming bishop, Silva served as a diocesan priest and later

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the

Diocese of Oakland The Diocese of Oakland ( la, Diœcesis Quercopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern California. The diocese comprises Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Th ...

in California.

Biography

Early life

Silva was born on

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

to electrician and refrigeration mechanic Richard Silva and homemaker Catherine Alves Silva at Saint Francis Hospital in Liliha. He is the great grandson of immigrants from the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. Silva was baptized at Saint Anthony Church in

Kailua, Hawaii Kailua () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the Koolaupoko District of the island of Oahu on the windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is in the judicial district and the ahupua'a named Ko'ol ...

, but his family moved to California during his first year of life. He attended Saint John the Baptist School in

San Lorenzo, California San Lorenzo (Spanish for "St. Lawrence") is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 29,581 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorporate ...

, and

Bishop O'Dowd High School Bishop O'Dowd High School is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in Oakland, California, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and named for the late auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Jam ...

in Oakland, California. Convinced of a calling to the priesthood, Silva entered Saint Joseph College Seminary in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...

, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree. He then attended Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California, where he obtained a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree.

Priesthood

Silva was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Oakland on May 2, 1975, by Bishop Floyd Begin. Silva studied Spanish language in

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 1975 and 1978. After his ordination, Silva served several pastoral assignments in California parishes: * Saint Bernard in Oakland from 1975 to 1978 * Our Lady of the Rosary in Union City from 1978 to 1979 * Saint Bede in Hayward from 1983 to 1984 * Saint Peter Martyr in Pittsburg from 1984 to 1986 * and Saint Anthony in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

from 1986 to 1991 During his first sabbatical leave in 1991, Silva studied at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. After returning to Oakland, Silva had more pastoral assignments: * Saint John the Baptist in El Cerrito from 1991 to 1994 * Saint Andrew and Saint Joseph in Oakland from 1994 to 1999 * Saint Leonard and Saint Paula in Fremont from 2000 to 2003 Employing parish clustering, Sllva served as pastor of two parishes at a time. He oversaw the merger of two parishes into one several times. Silva also served as vocations director from 1979 to 1983. He recruited religious brothers and priests for the diocese. In 2003, Bishop

Allen Vigneron Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands, serving since 2009. Vi ...

appointed Silva as his

and

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, in ...

. Silva was instrumental in the planning for the construction of the

Cathedral of Christ the Light The Cathedral of Christ the Light, also called Oakland Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland in Oakland, California. It is the seat of the Bishop of Oakland. Christ the Light, the first cathedral built entirely in t ...

. It replaced the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales, destroyed in the

Loma Prieta earthquake The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...

on October 17, 1989.

Bishop of Honolulu

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

appointed Silva as bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu. Silva was consecrated on July 21, 2005 at the

Neal S. Blaisdell Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

in Honolulu by Archbishop

William Levada William Joseph Levada (June 15, 1936September 26, 2019) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. From May 2005 until June 2012, he served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Benedict XVI; he was the h ...

. The co-consecrators were Bishop Vigneron and Bishop John Cummins Silva's episcopal motto was: ''"Witness to Jesus"'' from

Revelation 19 Revelation 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a po ...

:10. In April 2020, Silva announced during a Sunday mass that the diocese was paying millions to settle prior sex abuse cases. Silva also acknowledged that the diocese was still facing a large of number of sex abuse lawsuits as well. Silva was a principal promoter for the causes of sainthood for

Father Damien Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster ( nl, Pater Damiaan or '; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacr ...

and Sister

Marianne Cope Marianne Cope, also known as Saint Marianne of Molokai, (January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918) was a German-born American religious sister who was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York, and founding leader of its St. Josep ...

, both of whom cared for

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

patients on the island of

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

. One of his first acts as bishop-elect was to travel to

Kalaupapa Kalaupapa () is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai, within Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, the Hawaii legislature passed a law that resulted in the designation ...

on Moloka'i on May 19, 2005 to pay homage to Damien and Cope. Marianne had been

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

on May 14, 2005. Speaking of his trip, Silva said, "I will let that empower me in my ministry to the people of Hawai'i. Damien has been my hero since I was a boy." Silva's great grandfather had been a patient of the

leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Af ...

. After the 2009

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

of Damien and the 2012 canonization of Cope, Silva became the only bishop in American history to have two individuals from his diocese made saints during his episcopate.

Honors

Silva was inducted into the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

in 2005 and holds the rank of grand officer. He is also a member of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. In a June 2013 ceremony at the

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace ( French: ''Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix''; Portuguese: ''Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz''; Hawaiian: ''Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui''; Latin: ''Basilicæ cathedralis Sanctæ Mariæ de Pa ...

in Honolulu, Silva was inducted into the

Royal Order of Kamehameha I The Royal Order of Kamehameha I (''Kamehameha I e Hookanaka'') is an order of knighthood established by Kamehameha V in 1865, to promote and defend the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Established by the 1864 Constitution, the Order of Kam ...

with the rank of knight companion. The citation said that Silva had:

"...gained the respect and admiration of the High Chiefs, Chief, Officers, Mamo Hawaii and Na Wahine Hui o Kamehameha I for his ecumenical spirit of aloha, kindness sensitivity to our island ways and for his love of the Hawaiian culture and all the cultures for people from around the world who call Hawaii home."

Coat of Arms

The Episcopal coat-of-arms for Silva was designed by Father Quang Dong and Thanh Dong. ''Silva'' means "forest" in Portuguese. The sinister impalement contains three trees in the "forest"; the

kukui ''Aleurites moluccanus'', the candlenut, is a flowering plant, flowering tree in the Euphorbia, spurge Family (biology), family, Euphorbiaceae, also known as candleberry, Indian walnut, ''kemiri'', varnish tree, ''nuez de la India'', ''buah ker ...

(''Aleurites mollucana'') on the right, symbolizing Hawaii, the birthplace of Silva, his parents and grandparents. The kukui yields an oil with healing properties that also provides light; the oak (''

Quercus alba An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

'') on the left, symbolizing Oakland (''Quercopolitana'') where Silva grew up and where he served as a priest for 30 years; and the cross - the tree of life - in the center, with

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

leaves symbolizing

Malia O Ka Malu Malia O Ka Malu or Our Lady of Peace is an appellation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Hawaiian language. It is shortened from "Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui", a title of the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, the Cathedra ...

(Mary, Queen of Peace), patroness of the Diocese of Honolulu.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu Official SiteAllen Henry Vigneron Statement of Silva Appointment on 17 May 2005United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Statement of Silva Appointment on 17 May 2005

Vatican Statement of Silva Appointment on 17 May 2005

* Hawaii Catholic Herald, July 15, 2005 - ''Special Edition for the Installation and Ordination of Bishop Clarence Silva''

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Clarence Richard 1949 births Living people Saint Patrick's Seminary and University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Honolulu People from Oakland, California American people of Azorean descent 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Knights of Malta Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Catholics from California American people of Portuguese descent