Faith

New Priest for Grace Episcopal

Friday, February 15th, 2013

New Priest for Grace Episcopal

Community Contributed

By Nita Bogart

When Father Robert Walden received his calling to become an Episcopal priest, it was not a subtle nudge.  He had served in the Air Force for 12 years and seemed settled in this career path. He had served in the Pacific, and was at Hickham Air force base in Hawaii, when one day, he had to go to Tripler Hospital to get medicine for his wife’s heart condition. While there, he paid a visit to a friend who was a patient.

The visit had a powerful impact on him, and left him with an inspiration to become a priest.…

Noted Author to Speak on “the Soul” This Weekend

Friday, January 18th, 2013

Baha`i Community of Molokai News Release

Cook Islander author and artist Johnny Frisbie will speak on “The Soul in Polynesian Tradition and the Baha`i Writings,” Saturday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. at Kalele Bookstore and again on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. at the Baha`i Center, mile 14 east.

Johnny was raised on Puka-Puka, a one-mile square atoll in the northern Cook Islands with a population of about 400 people. Her American father was a writer and Johnny inherited his love of words. When her mother died, they migrated to Rarotonga where she saw her first mountains, rivers, horses, cows and dogs.…

St. Marianne Honored at Home

Monday, January 14th, 2013

St. Marianne Honored at Home

After a week of rain and wind, last Saturday’s sunny dawn was an auspicious start to a special day in Kalaupapa. Hundreds of friends and dignitaries from across the country, as well as community members, gathered to celebrate the sainthood of St. Marianne Cope. While festivities have been held in her honor around the world since her canonization in October, this event brought the celebration home to the place St. Marianne served exiled Hansen’s disease patients for 30 years.

“This day was a surprise,” smiled patient resident Gloria Marks, referring to both the weather and the reason for celebration. “This day is important because she [St.…

St. Marianne Relic Visits Molokai

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

St. Marianne Relic Visits Molokai

The newly canonized St. Marianne Cope “came home” last week, in the words of many Molokai parishioners, as her relic visited the island where she served Hansen’s disease patients in Kalaupapa for 30 years. Accompanied by Catholic dignitaries, bishops and Franciscan sisters, the relic — a bone fragment of St. Marianne — made several stops on Molokai last Friday. Prayer services were held at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows and St. Joseph’s chapels on the east end, with a mass at St. Damien Church in Kaunakakai followed by time for personal veneration.

“Today is a very special moment in our history as we welcome St.…

Mother Marianne Soon to Be ‘Saint’

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

Mother Marianne Soon to Be ‘Saint’

This month marks long-awaited confirmation of what many Molokai residents and Catholics around the world already knew — Mother Marianne Cope will be officially declared a saint. Mother Marianne, who served Hansen’s disease patients in Kalaupapa for 30 years alongside St. Damien at the end of his life, will be canonized by the Pope in Rome on Oct. 21. Marianne will become the second saint to call Molokai home.

About 400 Catholics from Hawaii, including from Molokai four parishioners, Father William Petrie and a group of Kalaupapa patient residents, will make the journey to Italy to witness the canonization in person.…

Country Fair for the Catholic Church

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Country Fair for the Catholic Church

Catholic parishioners on Molokai have been planning and fundraising for a new church since 1995. Now that the worship structure is a reality, the fundraising efforts haven’t stopped — one of the St. Damien Parish’s biggest annual events was held last Saturday. This year’s Country Fair at the Mitchell Pauole Center had a fundraising goal of $12,000, according to church secretary Rose Brito.

“[The Country Fair’s] purpose is to pay off our beautiful church,” said Brito.

Even with years of fundraising, the parish still has over $1.4 million in loans to pay off on the new church, said Joan Lasua, the church’s finance chair.…

Songs of Praise

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Songs of Praise

Hundreds gathered to share in the third annual Molokai Summer Praise Concert, held at Kaunakakai Ball Field on Friday. The concert featured four musical groups from off-island, including 2010 Na Hoku Award winners Barrett and Tara Awai.

The event, put on by a committee comprised of seven different churches on Molokai, was a free event for families, and offered free food, music and games for keiki.

“It’s a no-strings-attached event and it’s for our whole island,” said Pastor Randy Manley of Molokai Baptist Church. “We’re excited to be able to bless our community like this and see it grow every year.”…

New Catholic Priest for Kalaupapa

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

New Catholic Priest for Kalaupapa

July 11 marked what Kalaupapa’s new Catholic priest believes is the fulfillment of his destiny. Father Patrick Killilea was installed as the pastor of the peninsula’s St. Francis Church, replacing Father Ambrose Sapa, who was reassigned to serve on Oahu.

“My story really begins in Kalaupapa in the summer of 2004,” said Killilea, a native of Ireland who had been serving in Massachusetts. He had come over to Kalaupapa to visit fellow members of the Sacred Hearts order — of which St. Damien was also a member.

“The words… ‘Damien the Blessed’… nearly brought me to tears,” he said. “I knew [then] I was destined to be here.”…

Catholic Parish Gets New Priest

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Catholic Parish Gets New Priest

As a high school student in Arizona at the age of 16, Father William Petrie read a biography of St. Damien in school. That’s what started the priest’s journey in the Catholic faith, which has culminated in his installation as pastor of Molokai’s St. Damien Parish last Tuesday.

“That book inspired me so much that I decided I was going to become a priest and work with leprosy patients,” he said. “And it all came true.”

He entered seminary and joined the order of the Sacred Hearts, of which St. Damien was a member. Sixteen years after he felt called by the saint from Molokai, he went to India to work with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose mission was to serve those with leprosy, where he lived for 25 years.…

Leaving a Legacy of Faith

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

Leaving a Legacy of Faith

Well-loved priest to move from Molokai.

By Catherine Cluett

While most Catholic priests are known for their spotless black cassocks and distinctive clerical collar, Molokai’s Father Clyde Guerreiro is often found in work-worn denim overalls, a construction tool in hand.

Described by parishioners and community members as self-deprecating, down-to-earth, quick to laugh, a handyman and a visionary, Guerriero is fulfilling his childhood dream of priesthood. As a member of the Sacred Hearts order, he has been serving on Molokai for five years. But at the end of June, Guerreiro will be leaving the island, having been asked to re-build a Catholic community in Wahiawa, Oahu, and later, Tonga.…