Saint Raphael Catholic Church in Koloa is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

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 ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Located in

Koloa Kōloa is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2020 census, up from 1,942 at the 2000 census. The first successful sugarcane plantation in the Hawa ...

on the island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

, the church falls under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

of the Diocese of Honolulu and its

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. It is named after Saint Raphael. The oldest Catholic Church in Kauai, St. Raphael's was founded in 1841 by Father

Arsenius Walsh Arsenius Walsh, Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, SS.CC., (1804 – 14 October 1869), was an Irish Catholic priest who was among the first Roman Catholic missionaries in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was a member of the Congregation ...

. It was founded two years after Catholics were granted religious freedom in Hawaii after the French threatened Honolulu. The church building was completed in 1854. It was enlarged and renovated in 1936.

References

External links

St. Raphael Church website
Roman Catholic churches in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Kauai County, Hawaii 1841 establishments in Hawaii Roman Catholic churches completed in 1856 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States {{Hawaii-stub