‘Man of boundless energy,’ Father Mark Consalvi served islands nearly 60 years

By Lisa Benoit

Sacred Hearts Father Mark Consalvi, who served Hawaii for almost 60 years and was associate pastor at St. Augustine Parish, Waikiki, died on April 28 after celebrating Eucharist for the last time with some of his “beloved people of Hawaii,” according to Sacred Hearts Father Clarence Guerreiro, provincial of the Sacred Hearts Fathers and Brothers in Hawaii. Father Consalvi was 87 years old.

St. Augustine was also his first parish assignment when he arrived in Hawaii from New York in 1946.

“Father Mark Consalvi was a man of boundless energy, multiple skills and great determination,” said Father Guerreiro, superior of the Sacred Hearts Fathers and Brothers in Hawaii. “Arriving in Hawaii in 1946, he hit the ground running and never stopped.”

Father Consalvi’s funeral will be a joint one on May 12, with Sacred Hearts Father Raphael Smulders who died in Honolulu on May 1. The viewing will be 5-7 p.m. at St. Patrick Church in Kaimuki, followed by the funeral liturgy. The priests will be buried at Hawaiian Memorial the next day at 9 a.m., on May 13.

Father Consalvi was born in Rochester, N.Y., on March 6, 1918.

He attended St. Josephite Seminary at Catholic University in Washington D.C. and made his first profession to the Sacred Hearts Order in 1941. He was ordained at Holy Trinity Chapel in Washington, D.C., in 1943 at 25 years old.

His first Hawaii assignment came in 1946 at St. Augustine Church, Waikiki. That same year, he went to St. Gabriel Mission in Keanae, Maui, then served at Our Lady of Lourdes in Honokaa in 1947, followed by Good Shepherd Parish, Honomu in 1948.

He then served for six years at St. Mary Parish in Hana, Maui, from 1950 to 1956.

Father Consalvi was then assigned to St. Ann Parish, Kaneohe for 11 years, from 1956 to 1967. While there, he rebuilt portions of the school and cafeteria.

After, he moved to St. Elizabeth Parish in Aiea from 1967 to 1974, then he went to St. George Parish, Waimanalo. He served as pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Honolulu, from May 1985 to July 1993. He enjoyed a brief retirement from which he was called back to serve his old parish from 1996 until 2002, when he moved to St. Augustine Parish. He had cardiac bypass surgery May 4, 2000.

According to Father Guerreiro, Father Consalvi was a “great builder.” Throughout his priestly ministry he built a recreation center at St. Gabriel Mission; a recreation hall at Our Lady of Lourdes; a rectory and a parish hall at St. Mary Parish, Hana; a convent, rectory, cafeteria and a school at St. Ann’s at Kaneohe; a new church at St. Elizabeth Parish in Aiea and a new rectory at St. George Parish at Waimanalo.

He also his served with the Army National Guard for 16 years and retired as a major.

Said Father Gary Secor, delegate for clergy, said, “His dedication to the pastoral ministry has been a great blessing to our diocese and he will be very missed.”

While serving in Hawaii, Father Consalvi was active as a diocesan scout chaplain for 14 years in the 1960s and 1970s. He also organized the first St. Vincent de Paul Society in Hawaii. In tribute, the society dedicated a recently constructed low-cost housing project in Pearl City to him.

Father Mark Consalvi was appointed as the spiritual director of the Oahu Council of Filipino Catholic Club in the mid-1970s. He has also served as the chaplain for the Young Ladies Institute #45 and the assistant state chaplain for the Knights of Columbus.

Father Consalvi, was presented the Outstanding Senior Citizen’s Award by Mayor Jeremy Harris at the 36th Mayor’s Senior Recognition Program at the Hilton Hawaiian Village several years ago. The Honolulu Fire Department had nominated Father Consalvi for the award for his work as a fire department chaplain.