Three Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, all former administrators of schools in their native Philippines, arrived in Hawaii June 17 to run St. Anthony School in Kalihi.

This is the first time this order has served in Hawaii.

Sister Eleonor Amante, the past principal of St. Paul School in Iloilo, will be the principal of St. Anthony. Sister Concepcion Dacanay left her post as vice principal for Christian Formation at St. Paul University in Mindanao to be the second grade teacher and superior of the local community. Sister Emelita Alvarez, the former principal of St. Paul Academy in Goa, will be the seventh grade teacher.

None of the sisters has ever been to Hawaii before, although Sister Concepcion has a sister living on Maui.

The Sisters of St. Paul are part of a worldwide order of nuns with a membership of today of more than 5,000 sisters who serve in 32 countries. In the Philippines, where they have been for more than a century, their work is primarily in the field of education, operating 36 schools throughout the country. The Philippine province has a second U.S. mission, in South San Francisco, Calif.

The Sisters of St. Paul are replacing another Philippine-based order, the Religious of the Virgin Mary, or RVM Sisters, who have administered St. Anthony School for 30 years.

The three sisters met Bishop Larry Silva in his Bishop Street office on July 7.

St. Anthony School opens on Aug. 22.