Clarence Richard Silva (born August 6, 1949), known as Larry Silva, is an American prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has been serving as bishop of the

Diocese of Honolulu The Diocese of Honolulu () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese for the state of Hawaii in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Francisco. The mother ...

in Hawaii since 2005. Silva is the first priest born in Hawaii to become bishop of Honolulu and the second one of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Azorean The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two Autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaro ...

ancestry. Prior to becoming a bishop, Silva served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Diocese of Oakland.

Biography

Early life

Clarence Silva was born on August 6, 1949, in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, to Richard and Catherine Alves Silva at Saint Francis Hospital in Liliha. Clarence Silva is the great-grandson of

immigrants to the United States. Silva was baptized at Saint Anthony Church in

Kailua, Hawaii Kailua () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the North Koolaupoko, Hawaii, Koolaupoko District of the island of Oahu, Oahu on the windward and leeward, windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is i ...

; while he was still an infant, the Silva family moved to California. He attended Saint John the Baptist School in

San Lorenzo, California San Lorenzo (Spanish language, Spanish for "Saint Lawrence, Saint Laurence") is a census-designated place, census-designated place (CDP) located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, ...

, and

Bishop O'Dowd High School Bishop O'Dowd High School is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in Oakland, California, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and named after the late auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, ...

in Oakland, California. Convinced of a calling to the priesthood, Silva entered Saint Joseph College Seminary in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. He then attended Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California, where he obtained a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree.

Priesthood

Silva was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Oakland on May 2, 1975, by Bishop Floyd Begin at the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales in Oakland. Silva spent the summer of 1975 studying

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. After returning from Mexico, the diocese assigned Silva as associate pastor in the following California parishes: * Saint Bernard in Oakland (1975 to 1978). During the summer of 1978, he returned to Cuernavaca for more instruction in Spanish. * Our Lady of the Rosary in Union City (1978 to 1979). During this period, he also served as vocations director for the diocese. * Saint Bede in Hayward (1983 to 1984) Silva was named pastor of Saint Peter Martyr Parish in

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg (formerly Black Diamond, New York Landing and New York of the Pacific) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of t ...

, in 1984. Two years later, he was transferred to Saint Anthony Parish in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

to serve as pastor there. During a three-month sabbatical leave in 1991, Silva studied at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. After returning to Oakland, Silva had more pastoral assignments: * Saint John the Baptist in El Cerrito (1991 to 1994) * Saint Andrew and Saint Joseph in Oakland (1994 to 1999) * Saint Leonard and Saint Paula in Fremont (2000 to 2003) In 2003, Bishop

Allen Vigneron Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an American Catholic prelate who served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and ecclesiastical superior of the Cayman Islands from 2008 to 2025. Vigneron previously served as ...

appointed Silva as his

and

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, in ...

. Silva was instrumental in the planning for the construction of the

Cathedral of Christ the Light The Cathedral of Christ the Light, also called Oakland Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland in Oakland, California, Oakland, California. It is the seat of the Bishop of Oakland. Christ the Light was the first cathe ...

. It replaced the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales, destroyed in the

Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) ...

in 1989.

Bishop of Honolulu

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

appointed Silva on May 17, 2005, as bishop of Honolulu. Silva was consecrated on July 21, 2005, at the

Neal S. Blaisdell Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic W ...

in Honolulu by Archbishop

William Levada William Joseph Levada (June 15, 1936September 26, 2019) was an American Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2005 to 2012. During that time, he was the highest-ranking American in the Ro ...

. The co-consecrators were Vigneron and Bishop John Cummins. Silva's episcopal motto is "Witness to Jesus". Silva was a principal promoter for the causes of sainthood for

Father Damien Damien De Veuster , popularly known as Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai ( or '; born Jozef De Veuster; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts ...

and Sister

Marianne Cope Marianne Cope, O.S.F. (also known as Marianne of Molokai; January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918) was a German-born American Religious Sister who was a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse, New York, and founding director of its St. ...

, both of whom cared for

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

patients on the island of

Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its g ...

. Silva traveled to

Kalaupapa Kalaupapa () is a small unincorporated community and Hawaiian home land on the island of Molokai, within Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, the Hawaii legislature passed a law that resul ...

on Molokai on May 19, 2005, to pay homage to Damien and Cope. Cope had been

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

by Benedict XVI earlier that week. In April 2020, Silva announced during a Sunday mass that the diocese was paying millions to settle prior sex abuse cases. Silva also acknowledged that the diocese was still facing a large of number of sex abuse lawsuits.

Honors

Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...

in 2005 with the rank of grand officer. *

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

in 2013 ceremony at the

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is the mother church and cathedral of the Diocese of Honolulu. History Groundbreaking The first Catholic missionaries to Hawaii, three priests of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and M ...

in Honolulu *

Royal Order of Kamehameha I The Royal Order of Kamehameha I (''Kamehameha I e Hookanaka'') is an order of knighthood established by Kamehameha V in 1865, to promote and defend the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Established by the 1864 Constitution, the Order of Kame ...

in 2013 with the rank of knight companion. The citation said that Silva had:

"...gained the respect and admiration of the High Chiefs, Chief, Officers, Mamo Hawaii and Na Wahine Hui o Kamehameha I for his ecumenical spirit of aloha, kindness sensitivity to our island ways and for his love of the Hawaiian culture and all the cultures for people from around the world who call Hawaii home."

Coat of arms

Silva's episcopal coat-of-arms was designed by Reverend Quang Dong and Thanh Dong. ''Silva'' means "forest" in

. for that reason the coat of arms contain three trees." * the

kukui ''Aleurites moluccanus'', commonly known as candlenut, is a tree in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It grows to about tall and produces drupe fruit. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, the species' origin is unclear due to its spread b ...

tree (''Aleurites mollucana'') on the right symbolizes Hawaii. It yields an oil with healing properties that also provides light * the oak trees ''(

Quercus alba ''Quercus alba'', the white oak, is one of the preeminent hardwoods of eastern and central North America. It is a long-lived oak, native to eastern and central North America and found from Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec, and southern Maine south as ...

'') on the left symbolize Oakland (''Quercopolitana'') where Silva grew up and served as a priest * the cross in the center, known as the tree of life, has

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

leaves symbolizing Malia O Ka Malu (Mary, Queen of Peace), patroness of the diocese.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu Official Site
*
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Statement of Silva Appointment on 17 May 2005

Vatican Statement of Silva Appointment on 17 May 2005

* Hawaii Catholic Herald, July 15, 2005 - ''Special Edition for the Installation and Ordination of Bishop Clarence Silva''

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Clarence Richard 1949 births Living people Saint Patrick's Seminary and University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Honolulu People from Oakland, California American people of Azorean descent 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Knights of Malta Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Catholics from California American people of Portuguese descent