Saint Patrick Catholic Church, Honolulu is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the

Kaimuki Kaimukī is a residential neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. History In the 19th century the area was a farm of King Kalākaua, where ostriches roamed wild over the mountain side. It later became the site of a carnation farm for ...

district, in the East Honolulu Vicariate of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu The Diocese of Honolulu () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese for the state of Hawaii in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisc ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The church was consecrated under the title of St. Patrick, Bishop of Armagh. Its

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

, as well as its fine ecclesiastical appointments such as

stained glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

and

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

, are attractive to prospective couples seeking nuptial rites. Although it falls under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Honolulu, the parish is owned by the Fathers and Brothers of the Sacred Hearts (Picpus) through papal indult and in recognition of the missionary efforts of the Picpus congregation in establishing the church in the Hawaiian Islands. The church is frequently the site of religious professions,

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

s and

obsequies A funeral is a ceremony connected with the Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture ...

for the members of the Hawaiian Province of the Picpus congregation.

Church, Monastery and Rectory

Msgr. Libert Boeynaems, SS.CC., Bishop of the Titular See of Zeugma and Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands, acquired the land on dry, rocky volcanic slope of Kaimuki for a church in 1901. Meanwhile, the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts acquired a lot just west of the church lot and in 1909 had their convent and their school ( Academy of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary) blessed. By 1917, Kaimuki was developed and the convent chapel, dedicated under the title of

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque Margaret Mary Alacoque (; 22 July 1647 – 17 October 1690) was a French Visitation nun and mystic who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form. Biography Early life Alacoque was born in 1647 in L'Hautecour, B ...

was open to the public for Sunday worship. A church was needed and the Vicar Apostolic instructed Father Athanasius Bous, SS.CC., to initiate work on building a new church for Kaimuki, securing the services of architect, R. A. Fishbourne. A Romanesque cruciform structure was completed in 1929 and was solemnly dedicated on February 10, 1929, by Msgr. Stephen Peter Alencastre, SS.CC., Bishop of the Titular See of Arabissus and the (final) Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands. The church was furnished with stained glass windows and two bells from

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. Statues, altars, pulpit and vestments were donated by parishioners. With the installation of a

, the church was complete. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Father Andrew LaRiviere, SS.CC., transformed the front of the church property into an open space suitable for parking on Sundays. In 1935 a passing Benedictine monk drew a set of plans for a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

for the priests and brothers of the Sacred Hearts congregation. The plan came to fruition and a monastery-rectory consonant with the church's Romanesque architecture served the church until 1963, when pastor Father Albert Leunens, SS.CC., constructed a new

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

in the Romanesque style made separate from the monastery. Fr. Clyde Gurriero, ss.cc. is the current Pastor. Fr. Bertram Lock, ss.cc. is the current Parochial Vicar. Fr. Micheal Kumar, ss.cc is the current Parochial Vicar.

School

A school was opened in September 1930, built with wood salvaged from the old Saint Louis College on River Street. The school was staffed by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts and started with three grades. Eventually, the school consisted of eight grades and a kindergarten. With the increasing population in Kaimuki, the school was expanded to a double school in 1943, due to the efforts of two carpenter religious, Brothers Sylvester Barbe, SS.CC., and Wenceslaus Van Vorst, SS.CC. In January 1950, a fire destroyed the auditorium and all but two classrooms. Father Lawrence Mampaey, SS.CC., immediately set out to rebuild the school with the assistance of volunteers and parishioners. By summer of 1950, a new 16-classroom building designed by architect

Edwin L. Bauer Edwin Leo Bauer (1905–) was an American architect, whose mid-20th-century work significantly influenced the architectural landscape of Honolulu, Hawaii. His designs, characterized by innovative use of space and materials, played a substantial ...

and built by Pacific Construction Company was showcased during an open house.

Today

The parish school is currently staffed by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and lay staff. Sister Anne Clare De Costa, SS.CC., is the principal. The parish is administered by Fathers and Brothers of the Sacred Hearts. The current pastor of the parish is Father Clyde Guerreiro, SS.CC., assisted by parochial vicars Fathers Bertram Lock, SS.CC., and Father Micheal Kumar, SS.CC. The parish and the school have recently celebrated their 75th anniversaries, and a major capital improvement plan for the school and parish is in development. The school has launched a three-year program to restructure the teaching learning environment. The program called "Learning for All", is based on the spirit of the Sacred Hearts, effective school research, cooperative learning and teachers as leaders.

References

* ''Hawai‘i Catholic Herald'', May 27, 1966 {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick Catholic Church in Honolulu, Saint Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu Hawaiian architecture Roman Catholic churches in Hawaii Roman Catholic churches in Honolulu