By Patrick Downes, Hawaii Catholic Herald
If you allowed yourself to succumb to the Halekulani wine and the reverie of Waikiki at sunset, no one would blame you if you imagined you saw Bishop Ferrario smiling and talking golf and old times with the guests. His spirit was surely there, as thick as the sauce for the little crab cakes and as vibrant as the dip accompanying the mini-lumpia arrayed on the serving tables.
Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario, of course, has been dead for a few years, but Sue Ferandin still found herself choking up a bit as she delivered her tribute to the man who founded and fostered the Augustine Educational Foundation.
The occasion was the foundation’s Donor Appreciation Reception, June 29, celebrated on an intimate upstairs lanai at the Halekulani Hotel. As executive director of the foundation, which has provided tuition assistance to Hawaii’s Catholic School students for nearly 25 years, Ferandin organized the event, as she does every year, to thank those who generously contribute to the cause.
Mention of the late bishop continues to bring a “smile on the faces of those here who were touched by this wonderful man,” Ferandin told the gathering.
“In 1984, he had a vision to make Catholic education affordable in Hawaii,” she said. “Everyone in this room realized this dream.”
Most of the 68 long-time benefactors present had also been beneficiaries of close personal friendships with the late bishop.
Ferandin extended her thanks to those who continued his dream, Bishop Ferrario’s successors Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo and former diocesan administrator Father Thomas Gross, and those who will steer the effort into the future, Bishop Larry Silva and his vicar general Father Marc R. Alexander.
Some of the original designers of the foundation, Msgr. Daniel Dever and Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Brenda Lau, were there with board members, the superintendent of Catholic Schools Carmen Himenes and several pastors, sharing drinks and pupus and talking story with donors and supporters.
Father Alexander introduced Bishop Silva who spoke a few words of gratitude and gave everyone a blessing.
“God of love,” he said, hands outstretched, “bless our friends gathered here who have opened their hearts so generously. Let them be filled with your love.”
Makana Yamasaki, an Augustine Foundation scholarship recipient dressed in a crisp white shirt and shiny black tie, delivered the speech of the evening. With his mother, grand-auntie, and grandparents paying proud attention, he spoke loudly and clearly into the microphone.
“I am going to Saint Louis School this year as a fourth grader,” exclaimed the boy. “I am very excited about going to Saint Louis. I wanted to be here tonight to say thank you to all of you, because you helped my mom to make it possible for me to continue to have a Catholic education.”
“I promise to study hard and get good grades so that I won’t let you down,” he said.
“Please continue to give to the Augustine Foundation so that other students like me can get a Catholic education,” he concluded.
Receiving special recognition that evening were the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation and the First Hawaiian Foundation.
Weinberg gave two $1 million endowments to the Augustine Foundation, one for neighbor island students and the other for families with the highest level of need. The First Hawaiian Foundation donated $200,000.
Since Bishop Ferrario created the foundation in 1984 with $1 million from the sale of St. Augustine School in Waikiki, the endowment has helped 5,117 Catholic school students in Hawaii with a total of $3.5 million.
The fund now stands at $8.2 million. This fall, $390,000 will be distributed among 372 students.