The story began on a lovely spring day in April 1938 when Bishop Stephen P. Alencastre, vicar apostolic for the Catholic Church in Hawaii, wrote to Mother Rose Columba McGinnis, superior general of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in St. Louis, Mo., with an urgent request for teachers for the new St. Theresa School in Honolulu. On April 24, Mother Rose Columba cabled back her regrets. However, the faith-filled Bishop the following day replied with a cablegram pressing his case.

His persistence prompted the mother superior to sail to Hawaii with Mother Mary Killian Corbett of Los Angeles to explore the possibilities of a Carondelet expansion into the Pacific. Their five-day visit — the cordial reception, the gracious hospitality and the obvious need — began a new chapter in the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph. By July, nine sisters had been chosen for Hawaii.

A few months later, Bishop Alencastre wrote another letter. This time his plea was for sisters to staff a school on Maui. The answer again was “yes.”

Five sisters opened Holy Rosary School in Paia in September 1939 — Mother Mary Albert Carroll, Sister Carlotta Whitmore, Sister Julienne Fennerty, Sister Miriam Ruth Karl and Sister Alice Josephine Tornovish. A year later, Sister Mary Jerome Mulligan joined them. The school flourished. The first year’s registration recorded 160 students, mostly children of Portuguese ancestry. By 1949, Holy Rosary had reached its maximum enrollment of 450.

Pearl Harbor was attacked two years after the sisters’ arrival and the impact reached the Valley Isle immediately. Everyone was placed under martial law and schools were closed. Teachers and children learned a whole new vocabulary — “gas masks,” “air raids,” “bomb shelters” and “blackouts.”

During the war years, the Maui sisters expanded their service beyond the classroom. Faithful to their heritage, they reached out to faith communities across the island, serving “in any work of which woman is capable.” Their galaxy of ministries included release time classes, vacation schools, children’s choirs, catechetical training centers, sodalities and youth clubs. The sisters extended their hospitality to servicemen, to their anxious families miles away, and to their companions in the South Pacific. As the Fourth Division Marines headed for combat, the sisters headed to chapel to pray for them at evening adoration. And the school children would gather during recess in the quiet of the parish church “to ask God to take good care of our Marines.”

Sister Francis Carol and Sister John Thomas were assigned to Christ the King Parish School in Kahului when it opened in 1955 with 60 pupils in kindergarten and first grade. Four new classrooms were up by 1959, and in 1962 the 400-seat cafeteria was dedicated.

Much of the Paia population had shifted to Kahului after the war, resulting in Holy Rosary School closing in 1962. The convent, home for the sisters for 21 years, was trucked to their new growing assignment, Christ the King.

Since 1961, eight Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet have served as principals at Christ the King — Sister Francis Carol, Sister Margaret Louise, Sister John Thomas, Sister Victoria Joseph, Sister Esther Marie, Sister Susan Stein, Sister Sarah Bernard and Sister Audrey Lauen.

Since 1990, five lay principals have carried on the spirit and spirituality of the sisters — Charlene Sylva, Debra Veit, Isaac Balicante, James Graham and Bernadette San Nicolas.

The dedicated religious and lay faculty members, gifted staff and generous parents shared the Gospel over the years with hundreds of children who, as they matured, brought their faith-filled love to the very ends of the Valley Isle. Like island rainbows, Christ the King graduates arched God’s promise and presence from busy Kahului to scenic Hana and from up-country Paia to quaint Lahaina. Young and old, they brought creative energy, innovative ideas and a passion for spreading God’s word. The sisters expanded their educational ministry to St. Anthony Grade and Jr./Sr. High Schools in Wailuku, and to the nearby parishes.

Developing deeper levels of discipleship, the sisters and their lay co-workers, on April 29, 1990, forged their hopes and dreams into a new lay association — The Maui Ohana of the Sisters of St. Joseph. At the first ceremony at Christ the King Convent, vice-provincial and Maui native Sister Roselani Enomoto welcomed 15 charter members, women and men who pledged to move toward profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction.

Even before making formal commitments as Ohana members, they were active as eucharistic ministers, lectors, religious educators, catechists, hospice volunteers, outreach workers, caregivers, parish musicians and RCIA sponsors. The Ohana deepened their love for eucharistic liturgy, shared prayer and daily encounters with Christ in Scripture, sparking new dimensions of discipleship. Partnering with the sisters at Christ the King Convent and at Hale Iokepa (House of Joseph), the Ohana continues to weave patterns of justice and peace all over the Valley Isle.

As Christ the King Church celebrates 75 years of life and ministry, we give thanks to God for those who first brought the faith to the island and for all here today. We pray that our lives will radiate the brilliance of a diamond-studded parish life that continues to sparkle throughout the islands. Ours is a holy and happy heritage! No wonder we pray: “I love, O Lord, the beauty of your house and the place where your glory dwells.”

For more information about the Sisters of St. Joseph call 1-808-373-3850. For more information about the CSJ Ohana call Pua Okamura at 572-9539. Congratulations to Christ the King Parish from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Ohana.