Government leaders and the Most Reverend Bishop Larry Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu joined parishioners of the Holy Cross Church and other dignitaries during the celebration of the Kalaheo church’s 100th anniversary, Saturday night. The first Holy Cross Church
Government leaders and the Most Reverend Bishop Larry Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu joined parishioners of the Holy Cross Church and other dignitaries during the celebration of the Kalaheo church’s 100th anniversary, Saturday night.
The first Holy Cross Church was dedicated Sept. 14, 1909, at the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross as a mission of Immaculate Conception Church for the Portuguese homesteaders and workers of the Kaua‘i Pineapple Company, states a certificate presented by the Kaua‘i County Council.
By the 1930s a pressing need for a larger stone church was planned, but eventually a larger wood-frame church was dedicated Nov. 22, 1936, in answer to a growing attendance at the original church.
A year later, Sacred Heart’s Father Walter Mutsaarts became the first resident pastor of Holy Cross, establishing the mission as a parish and overseeing the construction of a Rectory that later succumbed to fire, destroying all the parish records.
The building was later rebuilt and became the school library.
When Holy Cross was established as a parish, the Sacred Hearts Church in ‘Ele‘ele became the parish mission. Through its growth, Holy Cross Church built a rectory, a convent, a parish hall and a school.
Father Louis Boeynaems oversaw the construction of the school in 1946 and a convent for five Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary who would staff the school. The school operated for 42 years before closing in 1982 following the passage of Hurricane Iwa. The vote to close by the parishioners was due to the high costs of operating the school and a declining student enrollment.
The Society of Mary took over administration of the parish in 1949 which led to the construction of the parish hall in 1955.
After surviving Iwa, the passage of Hurricane Iniki in 1992 sent the parishioners to the Sacred Hearts Church in ‘Ele‘ele after the bell tower collapsed and wind and water damaged the interior of the church after its windows were shattered.
The restoration of the damaged church took more than two years before parishioners could return to Kalaheo when mass was celebrated in the newly renovated Blessed Sacrament Chapel, a full immersion baptistery. A new large multi-use parish center was also built.
Today, the Holy Cross Church has grown from its small church to a religious community of the Sacred Hearts, Marist and Diocesan Fathers, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and numerous dedicated lay people. These encompass a cross section of residents from Waimea, Kaumakani, Hanapepe, ‘Ele‘ele, Lawa‘i, ‘Oma‘o and Koloa with the majority of the parishioners calling Kalaheo “home.”
Holy Cross Church parishioners are active in community projects that include feeding the homeless, providing meals for the staff and volunteers of Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity, and providing counseling for those in need of spiritual guidance.
Ernest Barreira served as chair for the Holy Cross Centennial Celebration Committee that hosted the celebratory lu‘au, Saturday night, on the Kalaheo church grounds.
