By Lisa Dahm

Life on the fourth floor of the downtown chancery just got a bit cozier. On July 5, Bishop Larry Silva appointed Tom Papandrew, former general administrator of Sacred Heart Parish, Punahou, and St. Pius X Parish, Manoa, to head the new diocesan strategic planning process.

His desk, in an office just a few steps from the bishop’s, is on the same floor that you’ll find the vicar general, the vicar for clergy, the bishop’s administrative assistant and two secretaries. His title is Director of Planning.

According to vicar general Father Marc Alexander who recruited him, Papandrew brings to the diocese a wealth of knowledge, experience and energy. The bishop asked Father Alexander to lead the planning process.

Papandrew came to Oahu in 1968 and began working that year as an architect and landscape architect for the architectural firm of Vladimir Ossipoff. In 1970, he moved to Belt Collins, a firm of planners, engineers and landscape architects. He served as the company’s president and chairman for the last 15 years of his 33 years of service.

When he retired in 2003, Father Alexander, then pastor of Sacred Heart and St. Pius X Parishes, hired him to help run the two parishes, together known as the Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community. The parishes also contain the Korean Catholic Community and Maryknoll School.

“Tom is a rare resource because he is former president and chairman of Belt Collins,” the vicar general explained. “If we didn’t have him, we would have had to outsource separate consultation. Instead of having to do that, we have brought it in-house.”

While at Belt Collins, Papandrew worked in more than 20 countries including Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Asia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Philippines, Taiwan and Sri Lanka.

A member of the International Federation of Landscape Architects, he is also a much-consulted resource for national and international disaster relief planning. He attended a planning recovery summit following the devastating Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami in Asia, and assisted in Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.

“I was the national president of the professional association and have continued to represent that organization on the international federation and really gotten involved in the disaster response business,” he said.

“I am chairing a national committee on national response teams and I went to the Gulf states last year to facilitate workshops in the aftermath of Katrina,” Papandrew said.

He hopes to bring his expertise in disaster planning to help parishes prepare for future natural disasters, he said.

Papandrew also has a few years of parish planning experience as the administrator of the Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community. There he helped complete the $2.4 million renovation of Sacred Heart Church and grounds.

According to Father Alexander, Papandrew helped the Manoa-Punahou Community blend their assets while maintaining their separate identity.

“He has demonstrated his pastoral heart,” the priest said.

Papandrew is a longtime parishioner of the Manoa Punahou Catholic Community and has served on its pastoral committee. He and his wife of 35 years, Willa, are still active there.

Although the bishop’s strategic planning process has not yet been formally launched — his “vision statement” is expected to be published soon — Papandrew and Father Alexander have already been hard at work, collecting and reviewing data from parishes, starting with Kauai.

“Our goal is to go to all parishes and missions in the next six to nine months prior to putting together recommendations,” Papandrew said. “After, we should have a good understanding of the needs and where everybody is in terms of all of these issues.”

Papandrew, as head of Belt Collins, had prepared a demographic study of the Diocese of Honolulu in 1991 for Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario. The job helped familiarize him with Hawaii’s parishes.

Bishop Ferrario’s study was important, he said, but it did not include a strategic plan for the future. Since then, Hawaii has been changing exponentially, Papandrew said, which calls for laying a solid foundation to build the infrastructure for the future.

“The growth areas have accelerated and the social issues that we are dealing with are diverse and need to be looked at more carefully,” he said.

Papandrew said that from information gathered through his research, the planning process will identify where new parishes need to be created and identify parishes that are models for others to follow.

“What we are doing is looking across the board at the spiritual formation that is going on at the various parishes, social issues, facilities, land and sort of a comprehensive look at human resources,” he said.

“We will be coming up with recommendations for the future in all of these areas,” he said.