By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald

Road Map in hand, the bishop is hitting the highway. Bishop Larry Silva has embarked on a parish visiting schedule this year that will see him at one or two island churches a month. He has already visited three.

The bishop’s 2010 parish schedule (so far) St. Jude, Kapolei: Dec. 5-6 St. Joseph, Hilo: Jan. 16-17 Malia Puka O Kalani, Keaukaha: Jan 30-31 St. Philomena, Salt Lake: Feb. 6-7 St. Rita, Haiku: March 20-21 St. Roch, Kahuku: April 10-11 Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Waikane: April 17-18 St. Mary, Hana: May 15-16 Holy Family, Honolulu: July 17-18 Immaculate Conception, Ewa: Sept. 18-19 St. Theresa, Kekaha: Oct. 16-17 Another eight parishes are lining up for dates later this year through February of 2011. They are St. John Apostle and Evangelist, Mililani; St. Patrick, Kaimuki; St. Michael, Waialua; St. Elizabeth, Aiea; Our Lady of Sorrows, Wahiawa; St. Catherine, Kapaa; Maria Lanakila, Lahaina; and St. Theresa, Mountain View.

It’s one of the duties of a diocesan bishop to visit his people. Canon law requires a meeting every five years if possible. To his parish engagements, Bishop Silva is carrying with him his strategic plan for the diocese, which he calls the “Road Map.”

Road Map is the short name for “Witness to Jesus: Diocesan Road Map for Pastoral, Program, and Facility Needs 2008-2013.”

According to Sharon Chiarucci, head of the Office for Parish Resources and coordinator of the bishop’s visits, parishioners prepare for Bishop Silva’s arrival with a parish self-study.

It involves “getting their take on the state of the parish” and deciding what action is necessary “to be a vibrant, vital parish,” she said.

The bishop receives the study ahead of his visit, giving him “something concrete” to discuss when he arrives, Chiarucci explained.

“Parishioners have the opportunity to recognize their own challenges and where it overlaps” with the bishop’s Road Map, she said.

Bishop Silva typically spends Saturday and Sunday at the parish, meeting with parish leaders and presiding and preaching at weekend Masses.

In his first parish visit, to St. Jude in Kapolei Dec. 5-6, the bishop discussed “space problems” with the parishioners, Chiarucci said.

The relatively new church is in an area of Oahu exploding with new housing. According to Chiarucci, the bishop discussed ideas such as moving to a bigger place or opening a second parish.

Bishop Silva’s program, which is called Parish Episcopal Visitations, is similar to Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo’s Welcoming Parish program, which Chiarucci developed and oversaw. Chiarucci also goes to the parish when the bishop visits to facilitate his visit.

Chiarucci estimates Parish Episcopal Visitations will take five years to cover all 66 Hawaii parishes.