“I knew he would be very pastoral and that he was a very down-to-earth person. I knew he wouldn’t be into the trappings of the episcopacy. I knew he wasn’t that kind of person. He’s been very present throughout the diocese. When he asked us awhile back at the presbyteral council for an evaluation of his tenure, I think one of the things we told him is, ‘Don’t burn yourself out.’ He works very hard and wants to be on top of things, which is good, but we just encouraged him to not overdo it. I kiddingly say I gave the bishop away at his ordination because it was I and another priest who escorted the bishop into the Blaisdell arena at his ordination. I know he’s happily married to the Diocese of Honolulu. He loves it here.”
—Father Gary Secor, pastor,
Holy Trinity Church, Kuliouou
“As a non-Catholic, but as a fellow Christian, I really appreciated that he taught me something about being Catholic. I was so impressed by his calm demeanor, and really, his caring heart. That is what I got from him every time I met him. I enjoyed working with him, for him, by him, in the framework of tackling so many issues.”
—Dennis Arakaki, former director of Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference
“I appreciate what he does for us. He is very close to Father Damien like we are. He remembers the people of Kalaupapa, the patients. When we talk to him, he listens.”
—Meli Watanuki, resident,
Kalaupapa, Molokai
“My favorite story about Bishop Larry occurred at the diocesan Young Adult Congress in October 2005. It was lunch time and a group of us were sitting in the hallway at Sacred Hearts Academy with our food. With lunch in hand, Bishop Larry came over, pulled up a chair, and joined us. I remember thinking to myself: “How cool is this! The bishop is sitting here with us, eating lunch and ‘talking story’! Over the last five years, I’ve seen the care and interest that Bishop Larry has for youth and young adults to continue to grow in relationship to and with God and grow in knowledge of the church.”
—Lisa Gomes, diocesan director,
Youth and Young Adult Office
“I think my favorite story would be about when Bishop Larry called our home to ask if John and I would be co-directors for deacon formation. John’s Mom was in town … we had been talking about how nice bishop was and how he always remembered names and personal details about folks he met. The phone rang and our caller-ID popped up on our TV screen — ‘Clarence Silva’! We were not accustomed to see ‘Clarence’ followed by ‘Silva,’ but got the message pretty quickly who the caller was. John picked up the phone and heard the words, “John, are you sitting down?” The rest is history. What surprised me about him is his amazing memory for details about the people he meets. It never fails to make a positive impact ... when he calls the person by name and follows up with a personal comment.”
—Kathy Coughlin, diocesan co-director (with husband John), Deacon Formation Program
“I remember first meeting the bishop during one of the Youth and Young Adult Diocesan Board meetings nearly five years ago. I remember the energetic way he interacted with the youth and made the board feel like they were an important part of the Church. The youth were inspired by his presence and eager to work hard to do their part in establishing and nourishing effective ministry throughout the Diocese. Cool fact about Bishop Silva … he is totally in the ‘now’ with technology. Social media, computers, he even text messages! Very cool!”
—Dallas Carter, member, Diocesan
Pastoral Council