70YEARS PROFESSION
Sister Edna L. DeManche, SSCC
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Birthplace: Marionville, Mo.
Arrival in Hawaii: September 1940
Ministry: Limited sewing and writing; retired in Hawaii in 2006
Past Ministries: High school science and religion teacher in Hawaii Catholic schools; developed science materials and curriculum for Hawaii Catholic School Department; Fellow at the National Science Foundation; PhD in Botany from the University of Notre Dame; University of Hawaii team member for development, writing and implementation of materials for the Hawaii Public School System; helped create classroom activities for teachers in Hawaii, Japan, Marshall Islands, and Samoa; clothing and liturgical vestment design and sewing; secretary to provincial superior of Pacific Province of Congregation of the Sacred Hearts; community member in Artesia, N.M.
Reflection: “For my 60th jubilee I wrote, ‘Inwardly I have never risen from kneeling before God in the tabernacle one spring afternoon in 1927.’ That profound experience focused me for life. In 1937 I marked my first religious vows. In 1978, I transferred my vows to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. There have been other epiphanies but the ‘biggie’ yet to come is my eternal entering into joy beyond all measure.
Sister Richard Marie Toal, OSF
Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities (formerly Syracuse)
Birthplace: Camden, N.J.
Arrival in Hawaii: 1960
Current Ministry: Prayer minister
Past Ministries: Registered nurse at St. Elizabeth in Utica, N.Y. and Kalaupapa, Molokai
Reflection: “I attended and graduated from St. Joseph School in Camden, N.J., where the Syracuse Franciscan Sisters taught. Two other girls and I entered the Franciscan Community in 1937. As I celebrate my 70 years of religious life, I am grateful to God particularly to be able to serve Him as a nurse at Kalaupapa for 40 years.”
60YEARS PROFESSION
Sister Laurenza Fernandez, OSF
Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities (formerly Syracuse)
Birthplace: Maui
Current Ministry: Retired
Past Ministries: A registered nurse and graduate of St. Francis School of Nursing in Honolulu, she ministered as a school nurse, cared for the handicapped at the Special Education Center of Hawaii (SECOH), and cared for the senior sisters in Syracuse, the order’s center.
Sister Frances Cabrini Morishige, OSF
Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities (formerly Syracuse)
Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii
Current Ministry: Bishop Home, Kalaupapa, Molokai
Past Ministries: Nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, Syracuse, N.Y., St. Elizabeth Hospital, Utica, N.Y., St. Francis Hospital, Honolulu, and Kalaupapa Hospital, Molokai; St. Francis High School on Kauai
Reflection: “I come from a Buddhist family. Shortly after graduating from McKinley High School, I entered St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Honolulu. During my first year, I frequently noticed the words “Caritas Christi Urget Nos” inscribed at the entrance of the hospital. One day I asked one of the sisters what it meant and she said, “The love of Christ urges us.” I asked myself, urges us to do what? My curiosity led me to my conversion to Catholicism and religious vocation. I entered the Franciscans at the completion of my first year. I eventually graduated from St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Syracuse, N.Y. I am the first of Japanese ancestry to enter our community.”
60YEARS ORDINATION
Father Herbert Ching
Diocesan priest
Birthplace: Aiea, Oahu
Current Ministry: Retired
Past Ministries: Assistant pastor at St. Joseph Parish, Hilo, St. Anthony Parish, Kailua, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. He retired early in his priesthood because of ill health.
50YEARS PROFESSION
Brother Francis Apo, SSCC
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Birthplace: Waihee, Maui
Current Ministry: Yard man; truck driver
Past Ministries: Maintenance work and landscaping
Reflection: “Religious life was an entirely new way for one who was a cowhand, mechanic, merchant marine deckhand, and rigger for a construction company. I was professed in 1957 and spent most of my years doing maintenance work and landscaping. I was also in the Cook Islands. I am not retired and still beautifying our property while communing with the Lord.”
Brother Jose Degorio, SM
Marianists (Society of Mary)
Birthplace: Paia, Maui
Current Ministry: Records office, Chaminade University of Honolulu
Past Ministries: Worked in the business office at Chaminade University and St. Louis High School; provincial secretary, Marianist Center in Cupertino; teacher at St. Anthony School, Maui, and St. Louis High School
Reflection: “The thought of religious life came to me when I was in high school on Maui. The Marianist Brothers were very charismatic. Their lives dedicated to Mary appealed to me. When one of the Brothers asked me about becoming a Marianist, I said ‘yes.’ My Brothers have supported me throughout my 50 years as a Marianist Brother.”
Sister Ardis Kremer, MM
Maryknoll Sisters
Birthplace: Louisiana
Past Ministries: Ministry in Hawaii has been in public health, especially on Molokai and in the loving care for all God’s creatures. Her skills with animals filled an important gap when the visiting veterinarians’ schedules were cut back.
Sister Marcelia Maglinte, BVM
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque, Iowa
Birthplace: Kealia, Kauai
Current Ministry: Homebound eucharistic minister for the elderly; substitute teacher
Past Ministries: Teacher
Reflection: “I feel the primary reason for becoming a sister was my mother, Marcela. At home we recited several novenas and my mother would be invited to pray the nine nightly novenas at friends’ or relatives’ homes. However, I started to think about becoming a sister after seeing the movie The Citizen Saint, the life story based on St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. Since I was taught in most of my elementary grade years by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque, Iowa, I entered their community after graduating from Kapaa High School.”
Sister Patricia Oliver, RSM
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Birthplace: Rhode Island
Arrival in Hawaii: 2000
Ministry: Pastoral associate and director of religious education in St. Theresa Parish, Kihei
Past Ministries: Pastoral associate, Phoenix, Ariz.; coordinator for parish in Alaska without a resident priest
Reflection: “These past 50 years have been a gift of God’s mercy and love. Each Mercy Sister is a unique and original presentation of the Mercy Order. This is the miracle of my wondrous privilege and my awesome responsibility. This is the spirit of my mission: to live and be God’s mercy in the world.”
Brother Kevin J. Reilly, CFC
Congregation of Christian Brothers
Birthplace: New York, N.Y.
Arrival in Hawaii: August 1998
Current Ministry: Volunteer at Damien Memorial School; retired
Past Ministries: Educator
Reflection: “Due to the fact that two of my uncles were members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, I was well aware of, and influenced by, their important contribution to the church in the field of education. Also, my brother, who was a seminarian at the time, and is now a retired theologian and parish priest, urged and supported my decision to join the congregation.”
Sister Florence Remata, OSF
Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities (formerly Syracuse)
Birthplace: Waimea, Kauai
Current Ministry: Director of Catechetical Ministry at Immaculate Conception Parish, Lihue
Past Ministries: Teacher at St. Peter School, Riverside, N.J.; St. Joseph School, Hilo; Our Lady of Good Counsel School, Pearl City; Director of Catechetical Ministry at St. Patrick, Chittenango, N.Y.; and Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Pearl City
Reflection: “The seed of my vocation was planted in the sixth grade when I attended St. Theresa School on Kauai. Following my graduation from eighth grade I went on to St. Francis School on Oahu. I prayed daily to know God’s will for my life. My desire to enter the religious life was nurtured with prayer and the example of the Sisters of St. Francis. To follow God’s will has been my peace and happiness throughout my religious life.”
Sister Marilu Townsend, MM
Maryknoll Sisters
Birthplace: Louisiana
Current Ministry: Family ministry tending to the needs of her mother in San Antonio, Texas
Past Ministries: A board certified emergency physician in Hilo Hospital and entered into the liturgical community of Malia Puka O Kalani Parish in Keaukaha
50YEARS ORDINATION
Father Francis T. Nakagawa, SM
Society of Mary (Marianist)
Birthplace: Wailuku, Maui
Current Ministry: Chaplain for Japanese Catholic Community, the Neo-Catechumenal Way at St. John the Baptist Church, and the Daughters of St. Paul; presides at Latin Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church and at Japanese weddings
Past Ministries: Teacher at St. Louis School, Chaminade University, St. Anthony, Maui; served at Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Pearl City, Maria Lanakila in Lahaina, St. John the Baptist in San Lorenzo, Calif., and St. Catherine in Martinez, Calif.; missionary to Japan for 22 years; taught in Marianist Schools in Japan and at the YBU Media Center in Kyoto.
Reflection: “Born the eighth of nine children to immigrant Buddhist parents from Japan, I was the only one to attend a Catholic school. Because of that, baptism, the Marianist vocation (it was at St. Anthony in Wailuku, where I was taught by the Brothers) came about. As a priest I can minister to and help people in a unique way. The language my parents gave me is put to good use. The name they gave me, too. Tasuku, which means ‘to help.’”
Father Louis Yim
Diocesan priest
Birthplace: Haleiwa, Oahu
Current Ministry: Retired
Past Ministries: Associate pastor or pastor at St. Theresa Parish, Honolulu; Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pearl City; St. Rita Parish, Nanakuli; Immaculate Conception Parish, Ewa; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Ewa Beach; Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace; St. Pius X Parish, Manoa
25YEARS PROFESSION
Sister Irene Kapuamaeole Barboza, SSCC
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii
Current Ministry: High school theology teacher, chair of theology department, and associate campus minister at Sacred Hearts Academy; pre-novitiate directress and provincial council member for the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Past Ministries: Teacher at Sacred Hearts Academy
Reflection: “As I reflect on these 25, actually 27, years since I entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, my heart is filled with gratitude and joy. As a seventh grader at Sacred Hearts Academy, I learned about Henriette Aymer de la Chevalerie, the valiant woman who founded the Congregation. Inspired by her complete trust in God’s compassionate love in Jesus and Mary, I also wanted to give all to God. Today in my life and ministry as a Sister, I experience that it is God, who gives all to me. So, in wonder I can only ‘Testify to Love.’”
Sister Yoo Soo Kim, MM
Maryknoll Sisters
Birthplace: Korea
Current Ministry: Artist in her native art form of paper cut as well as watercolor, acrylic, monotype and photography; liturgical dancer and choreographer
Sister Emma Quijada, OP
Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary
Birthplace: Iloilo City, Philippines
Arrival in Hawaii: September 4, 1992
Current Ministry: Preschool teacher at Rosary Preschool, Waipahu
Past Ministries: Elementary school teacher
Reflection: “My attraction to religious life started when my aunt, who was a religious came to visit my family. I started spending time with her and one weekend I joined her at the convent. Observing their way of life gave me the assurance that this is where I belong. An interview with their prioress general was very fruitful and my training began.”
Sister Margaret Timothy Sato, DSP
Daughters of St. Paul
Birthplace: Honolulu
Current Ministry: Manager of Pauline Books & Media Center, Honolulu; local superior of the Honolulu Community of the Daughters of St. Paul and regional vocation director of the Daughters of St. Paul
Past Ministries: Assigned to communities in Cleveland, Ohio; Staten Island, N.Y., and Boston, Mass.; provincial treasurer and provincial councilor for Daughters of St. Paul
Reflection: “My heart is filled with a song of praise for these past 25 years. God is so good and generous. I left Hawaii 29 years ago to enter the postulancy in Boston, and it has been a great adventure of knowing more fully God’s providential care and love. Thanks to my family and all the people who continue to enrich my life with their love. As St. Paul said, ‘I thank my God every time I think of you.’”
Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary
Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii
Current Ministry: Adjunct professor at Chaminade University of Honolulu; regional secretary for Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary
Past Ministries: Teacher; campus minister; director of religious education, retreat facilitator; inter-religious dialogue; regional councilor and ongoing formation director for Dominican Sisters
Reflection: “My life is not my own. Like a precious glass ball on Kailua shores set adrift on the fisherman’s turquoise canvas, so I, an itinerant preacher have become carried to other cultures, peoples and religions to share the Aloha instilled in, ‘E Aloha Kekahi I Kekahi’ (Love one another, as I have loved you).”
25YEARS ORDINATION
Father Alapaki Kim
Diocesan priest
Birthplace: Battlecreek, Mo.
Arrival in Hawaii: 1955
Current Ministry: Pastor of St. Rita Parish in Nanakuli; diocesan pastoral council member; Presbyteral Council member
Past Ministries: Administrator, Sacred Hearts Parish in Pahoa; campus ministry at University of Hawaii-Hilo; part-time associate at Malia Puka O Kalani in Hilo; associate pastor, Old St. Mary Church, Chicago; associate pastor and campus minister at St. John University Parish, West Virginia University
Reflection: “When I was in college I left the church. When I came back, I felt a calling. At first I just ignored it. But it seemed so strong that I finally sent in an application to different religious communities and chose the Paulist Fathers. I thought if the call was not real, I would know it and I could always leave. Each year I ended up renewing my vows and before I knew it I was ordained a priest. It was on May 22, 1982, at St. Paul the Apostle Church in New York City.”