Saint Augustine by the Sea Catholic Church
Encyclopedia
Saint Augustine by the Sea Catholic Church is a parish
of the Roman Catholic Church
of Hawai‘i
in the United States
. It falls under the jurisdiction
of the Diocese of Honolulu
and its bishop
; it is staffed by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
. Located at 130 Ohua Avenue, adjacent to Kalākaua Avenue in Waikīkī
, Saint Augustine by the Sea ministers primarily to visitors, as Waikīkī contains the highest number of domestic and international visitors in the State of Hawai‘i.
The parish campus is the home of the Damien Museum which houses several relics of Saint Damien of Moloka‘i
and related historical artifacts. A 20 minute video is shown about Father Damien and his work with Kalaupapa leprosy settlement
.
The current clerics of the parish include Father Lane K. Akiona
, SS.CC., pastor, and Father Lucius
, SS.CC., parochial vicar.
. At their request, Msgr. Gulstan Ropert
, SS.CC., authorized the first Mass for these soldiers in the chapel. The chapel was deemed much too small for continued military use and a temporary wooden frame structure was erected by the military authorities with a roof and open sides thatched with coconut palm fronds. Msgr. Ropert blessed the new structure and entrusted it to the care of Father Valentin Franckx, SS.CC. Father Franckx later made improvements to the chapel by putting in flooring, galvanized roofing and lattice walls. When the soldiers left, the community in Waikīkī continued to frequent the chapel on Sundays when Father Valentin said Mass.
Ropert approved plans to build a more permanent church and in 1901, on the feast day of Saint Augustine, he dedicated the new church under the title of its festal namesake, as the carpenters took a break while the services were conducted. Waikīkī was being touted as a tourist destination and the number of parishioners and visitors continued to grow. The church underwent enlargement in 1910, and 1925, essentially by cutting the building in two and moving the back to the beach. In 1920, the church acquired a right-of-way access to Kalākaua Avenue.
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
of Hawai‘i
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It falls under the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
of the Diocese of Honolulu
Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu
The Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, officially in Latin Dioecesis Honoluluensis, is an ecclesiastical territory or particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States...
and its bishop
Roman Catholic Bishop of Honolulu
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Honolulu is the residential bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu in the United States, which encompasses the entire state of Hawaii and the unincorporated Hawaiian Islands. The Honolulu diocese is a suffragan see in the metropolitan province of the...
; it is staffed by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is a Roman Catholic religious order of brothers, priests, and nuns...
. Located at 130 Ohua Avenue, adjacent to Kalākaua Avenue in Waikīkī
Waikiki
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
, Saint Augustine by the Sea ministers primarily to visitors, as Waikīkī contains the highest number of domestic and international visitors in the State of Hawai‘i.
The parish campus is the home of the Damien Museum which houses several relics of Saint Damien of Moloka‘i
Father Damien
Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. , born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order...
and related historical artifacts. A 20 minute video is shown about Father Damien and his work with Kalaupapa leprosy settlement
Kalaupapa, Hawaii
Kalaupapa is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai in the U.S. state of Hawaii, within Kalawao County.The village is located on the Kalaupapa peninsula at the base of the highest sea cliffs in the world, dropping about into the Pacific Ocean.- Volcanic origin :Kalaupapa...
.
The current clerics of the parish include Father Lane K. Akiona
Lane K. Akiona
Reverend Lane K. Akiona, SS.CC., is a Roman Catholic priest of the Hawaiian Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and a member of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre....
, SS.CC., pastor, and Father Lucius
Lucius
Lucius is a male given name derived from Lucius , one of the small group of common Latin forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from latin word Lux Lucius (Greek: Λούκιος/Loukios, Etruscan: Luvcie) is a male given name derived from Lucius (abbreviated L.), one of the small...
, SS.CC., parochial vicar.
History
Father Modestus Favens, SS.CC., was said to have built the first chapel in Waikīkī as early as 1854. The chapel was about twenty-feet by forty-feet with a steeple. Mass was seldom said in this chapel - the predominant weekly activity was Sunday afternoon devotions and religious instruction. In 1898, during the Spanish American War, many American soldiers were encamped near Diamond HeadDiamond Head, Hawaii
Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...
. At their request, Msgr. Gulstan Ropert
Gulstan Ropert
Gulstan Ropert, SS.CC., of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary served as the third vicar apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Sandwich Islands — now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, from 1892 to 1903. Born in France at Kerfago, St. Gildas de Rhuys, Morbihan, in...
, SS.CC., authorized the first Mass for these soldiers in the chapel. The chapel was deemed much too small for continued military use and a temporary wooden frame structure was erected by the military authorities with a roof and open sides thatched with coconut palm fronds. Msgr. Ropert blessed the new structure and entrusted it to the care of Father Valentin Franckx, SS.CC. Father Franckx later made improvements to the chapel by putting in flooring, galvanized roofing and lattice walls. When the soldiers left, the community in Waikīkī continued to frequent the chapel on Sundays when Father Valentin said Mass.
Ropert approved plans to build a more permanent church and in 1901, on the feast day of Saint Augustine, he dedicated the new church under the title of its festal namesake, as the carpenters took a break while the services were conducted. Waikīkī was being touted as a tourist destination and the number of parishioners and visitors continued to grow. The church underwent enlargement in 1910, and 1925, essentially by cutting the building in two and moving the back to the beach. In 1920, the church acquired a right-of-way access to Kalākaua Avenue.
External links
- St.Augustine by-the-Sea Roman Catholic Church - official site
- Damien Museum
- Information about the Damien Museum
- http://www.bestplaceshawaii.com/tips/hidden_places/damien_museum.html