By Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

The Catholic Church in Hawaii wants to buy a piece of its past in its look toward the future.

The Diocese of Honolulu is in the process of acquiring a building on the Fort Street Mall adjacent to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu that once belonged to the Sacred Hearts Sisters in the early 1900s.

The darkened area of the former convent school is the section being bought by the diocese. Most of the rest of the building, shown in this undated file photo, is gone. A long history The side-by-side buildings 1159 and 1155 Fort Street Mall are all that remains of the Sacred Hearts Convent School that once stretched five times their length down Fort Street in the heart of downtown Honolulu. Two months after the first Sacred Hearts Sisters came to Hawaii in May 1859, they opened a day and boarding school in existing structures just makai of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, which had been completed 16 years earlier. Charlene Alipio, archivist for the Sacred Hearts Sisters, said that the order’s first mother superior in Hawaii, Sister Maria Josepha strategically bought up land around the original convent beginning in 1860. Her foresight provided the property for a larger school, dormitory and convent, built for them in 1864 by the Sacred Hearts Brothers. Additions were constructed over time. A long building stretching down Fort Street was built in 1901 to replace some of the oldest structures. A small portion that remains on the mall today shows only four of the original building’s 22 upstairs windows that once faced the busy street. The 1859 marker at the top of the building the diocese is buying is misleading. It commemorates the year the Sacred Hearts Sisters arrived in Hawaii, not the year 42 years later that the building was made. The building used to be connected to the cathedral by a covered walkway, Alipio said, allowing the sisters to come and go between the convent and the church. The structure also stood about 30 feet closer to the cathedral before a section of the end closest to the church was torn down. The sisters sold the Fort Street property in 1937 for $225,000 after relocating the Sacred Hearts Convent School to Nuuanu at the present site of Hawaii Baptist Academy, and opening Sacred Hearts Academy in Kaimuki. Many different tenants have used the remnant of the old convent school building over the years. The Kim Chow Shoe Store occupied 1159 Fort Street Mall in more recent years. The store closed in 2002 and today the space is leased to the Church of Scientology of Hawaii. By Anna Weaver

The $2.5 million purchase of 1159 Fort Street Mall is scheduled to close on Dec. 19.

Plans are for the building to be used by the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace as a parish gathering space and for diocesan events, according to cathedral rector Father John Berger.

“For the life of the parish, I think we really need a parish hall,” he said, adding that for most parish and diocesan receptions, tents have to be set up outside to provide a place for people to congregate. “The [new building] location is perfect for us.”

Diocesan finance officer Bill Burton described the purchase as an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“There won’t be another chance,” he said, pointing out that most of the buildings surrounding the cathedral and the Diocese of Honolulu’s chancery next door at 1184 Bishop Street are leased to Hawaii Pacific University or rarely come up for sale.

The building at 1159 Fort Street Mall is only about a fifth of the original convent and school building built by the Sacred Hearts Sisters in 1901. The sisters sold the property in 1937 and much of it was torn down. (See “A long history” sidebar)

Father Berger says he envisions the new building serving as a gathering place. Other potential uses of the space include a choir practice area, a kitchen, offices, some outreach services, a theological library, and classrooms.

The rector said that when classrooms aren’t in use by the parish they potentially could be rented to HPU to help recover the cost of the purchase and renovations.

“This area around here could be a Catholic center,” Father Berger said.

The building on the 4,500 square foot property is currently listed as a three-story building with basement. The front façade appears to be a two-story structure, but one of two additions to the back has three floors.

According to vicar general Father Marc Alexander, the building could potentially be renovated and brought to code all the way up to a five-story structure.

Father Alexander says that this purchase shows the diocese’s vitality and focus on long-term planning under Bishop Larry Silva.

“The bishop has made it really clear that our goal is not just to serve the people that are coming to church but also to reach out to our inactive Catholics and evangelize beyond that,” the vicar general said.

“We can’t do that if we don’t have a place to put people,” he said.

‘Daunting’ fundraising task

Father Berger said that around the beginning of the summer a parishioner told him about a “for sale” sign on 1155 Fort Street Mall, the property next to the one now being purchased.

After talking with Father Alexander and looking into that property, the diocese contacted Chun Kim Chow Ltd., the owners of neighboring 1159 Fort Street Mall, to see if they would be willing to sell.

Oct. 19 marked the end of the due diligence period for the purchase and the diocese has already made a deposit on the building on behalf of the cathedral parish.

Father Berger said that in addition to the $2.5 million for the building, at least another $1 million will be needed for renovations. With renovations planned for Cathedral Catholic Academy, the parish’s Nuuanu Avenue school, and the upcoming cathedral restoration project, that is “a daunting amount of money” for the parish to raise, he said.

The cathedral has already formed fund-raising committees and begun a “Parish Hall Campaign.”

Father Berger hopes that people will see the purchase of 1159 Fort Street Mall as a benefit for all and contribute toward its cost since many large diocesan gatherings such as the Red Mass and events presided over by the bishop are held at the cathedral.

“This is the mother church of the diocese,” he said. “It should be a place that everyone can call their parish, their home.”