Sister of St. Joseph of St. Joseph of Carondelet Kathleen Marie Shields, former diocesan religious education director, will be in Hawaii to sign her new book, “Aloha Ke Akua, The Love of God,” April 1 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Kalihi.

Sister Kathleen will also sign books at the St. Anthony High School Library, Wailuku, Maui, on April 10 from 1 to 4 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

The April 1 signing will be in the St. Theresa School hall and begins at 5 p.m. There will also be a light meal served. Sister Kathleen will give a presentation at 6 p.m. and then sign books until 8 p.m.

The 192-page paperback was published late last year by Good Ground Press, the sisters’ own publishing house in St. Paul, Minn., where Sister Kathleen now resides. It tells the story of the Carondelet Sisters in Hawaii, from 1938 to the present, in 14 chapters with 45 pictures and several detailed appendixes. More than 200 Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet have served in the islands, most as educators in the parochial school system.

“Ours is a holy and happy heritage,” Sister Kathleen Marie begins, giving the reader a glimpse of order’s origins in a “tumultuous, revolutionary mid-17th century France.” After establishing themselves for nearly 150 years in the United States (Carondelet is the name of a village where they settled outside of St. Louis, Mo.), they branched out to Hawaii in 1938, answering the urgent plea of Bishop Stephen Alencastre.

Those who know the author, who spent more than 20 years directing catechetical ministry in Hawaii, can easily hear her enthusiasm and affection for Hawaii’s Catholic community. “Hers is most definitely a labor of love,” as one jacket reviewer put it.

All are invited to either event and there is no charge. For more information on the Kalihi book signing, call 737-2130 and for the Maui signing, contact Sister Eva Joseph Mesina, director of religious education at St. Anthony Parish at 808-244-8123.