Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop | Diocese of Honolulu

This month, the Diocese of Honolulu is preparing for a significant milestone in 2027: the bicentennial anniversary of the Catholic faith's arrival in Hawaii. This celebration will mark 200 years since missionaries from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary arrived in Honolulu on July 7, 1827. A week later, they celebrated Hawaii's first recorded Catholic Mass.

By January 1828, Hawaii's first Catholic church was established on land granted by King Kamehameha III. This site now hosts the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, recognized as the oldest continually used Catholic cathedral in the United States. In 1840, Bishop Stephen Rouchouze laid the cornerstone for a new cathedral, although he and his companions were lost at sea in 1841. The cathedral was dedicated in 1843.

Damien de Veuster arrived in Honolulu in 1864 and served those suffering from Hansen’s disease on Molokai’s Kalaupapa peninsula starting in 1873. Mother Marianne Cope and six Sisters of St. Francis joined him a decade later to care for patients and open schools.

Both Fr. Damien and Mother Marianne were canonized — Fr. Damien in 2009 and Mother Marianne in 2012 — with Bishop Larry Silva attending both ceremonies. Their relics will be housed at a new chapel within the renovated Cathedral Basilica set to reopen for the bicentennial anniversary.

Fr. Lane Akiona notes that people visit these relics seeking hope and miracles as part of their spiritual journey. Sister Alicia Damien highlights that Hawaii uniquely has two saints from Kalaupapa, emphasizing its significance.

Carol Ignacio believes that remembering their deeds calls for walking in their footsteps today: “I really believe the Spirit is calling us not just to remember what they did but to walk in their footsteps.” Anne Harpham hopes others can emulate them: “Fr. Damien and Mother Marianne did it selflessly and with great joy.”

The Diocese encourages watching "Following Footsteps" video available online for more information about these missionary saints.

Bishop Larry Silva concludes: “Let us join together with Fr. Damien and Mother Marianne... Let us follow the Lord... so that all our brothers and sisters can live in dignity.”