parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of the
Roman 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 ...
of
Hawaiʻi
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It falls under the
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
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 ...
and its
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
; it is staffed by the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary () abbreviated SS.CC., is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for priests and brothers. The congregation is also known as the Picpus because their first house w ...
. Located at 130 Ohua Avenue, adjacent to Kalākaua Avenue in Waikiki, Saint Augustine by the Sea ministers primarily to visitors, as Waikiki 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
Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, on the island of Molokai. Coterminous with the boundaries of Kalawao County and primarily on Kalaupapa peninsula, it was established b ...
.
The current clerics of the parish include Father Lane K. Akiona, SS.CC., pastor, and Father
Lucius
Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<, SS.CC., parochial vicar.
History
Father Modestus Favens, SS.CC., was said to have built the first chapel in Waikiki 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
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
, many American soldiers were encamped near Diamond Head. 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 Waikiki 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
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...
, he dedicated the new church under the title of its festal namesake, as the carpenters took a break while the services were conducted. Waikiki 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.
Gallery
Kapahulu neighborhood of Waikiki from the Hilton Waikiki Beach.jpg, The church is in the Kapahulu neighborhood of Waikiki.