About Sacred Heart · Hawi, Hawaii
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic parish in Hāwī, North Kohala, on the northern tip of Hawaiʻi Island. It belongs to the West Hawaiʻi Vicariate of the Diocese of Honolulu and serves the rural Kohala community along the Akoni Pule Highway. The present cruciform church was built in 1925 by Father Ludger Appleman, SS.CC., and the parish was canonically erected in 1926. It is staffed today by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (the Picpus Fathers), continuing a missionary tradition in Kohala that traces back to Father Damien de Veuster and his fellow Picpus priests.
- Established
- 1926
- Patron
- Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Lambert Hurint, SS.CC. (Parish Administrator)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu (West Hawaiʻi Vicariate)
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is the Catholic home of the rural North Kohala community, with daily 7:00 AM Mass Monday through Friday, a Saturday Vigil, and two Sunday Masses — a remarkable rhythm of worship for such a small town. The parish feeds bodies as well as souls through the Sacred Heart Community Food Basket, which distributes food twice a month and partners with local farms to share produce. Children grow in faith through religious education (and the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd), and worship is enriched by the historic 1925 church with its Belgian stained glass. It is a welcoming, multi-cultural ʻohana in the long Picpus missionary tradition.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 PM
- Also by appointment
Adoration times
- 1st Friday 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Parish History & Kohala Catholic Heritage
Catholic life in Kohala stretches back to roughly 1841, when Picpus Fathers (Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, SS.CC.) began ministering to native Hawaiians. Early missionaries included Fathers Arsenius Walsh, Dennis Maudet, Stanislaus Lebret, and Eustache Maheu — the last of whom built Waiʻāpuka Church, dedicated to Saint Louis. Saint Damien de Veuster pastored the Kohala mission from 1865 to 1873, building Our Lady of Victory Church at Halaʻula; his successor Father Gulstan Ropert opened the island's first Catholic school (Saint Ann at Halaʻula). The first Sacred Heart Church in Hāwī was built in 1905 by Father Aloysius Borghouts, SS.CC., and later moved to Halaʻula. The present church was completed in 1925 by Father Ludger Appleman, SS.CC., and the parish was canonically erected in 1926.
- First Sacred Heart Church built 1905 (Father Aloysius Borghouts, SS.CC.)
- Present church built 1925 (Father Ludger Appleman, SS.CC.)
- Parish canonically erected 1926
- Consecration by Msgr. Stephen Alencastre, SS.CC.
- Mission church in Halaʻula: Our Lady of Grace
Church Building & Campus
The 1925 Sacred Heart church is a cruciform structure noted for its Belgian stained-glass windows (donated by parishioners) and its fine ecclesiastical appointments. The parish campus includes the historic church, a rectory, a parish hall, and the adjacent Hāwī Cemetery — all set along the Akoni Pule Highway in the small town of Hāwī.
- Cruciform church, 1925
- Belgian-crafted stained-glass windows
- Rectory, parish hall, and cemetery on campus
Clergy & Parish Staff
Sacred Heart is administered by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (the Picpus Fathers). A small staff and corps of lay leaders keep the parish running and support its worship, formation, and outreach ministries.
- Rev. Lambert Hurint, SS.CC. — Parish Administrator
- Deacon Thomas Adams — Active Ministry
- Rita Maria — Secretary / Bookkeeper
- Evelyn Adams — Religious Education
- Liberty Rivera — Outreach / Food Pantry; Pastoral Council
- Lorraine Glory — Outreach / Food Pantry
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Religious education for children and youth is coordinated by Evelyn Adams and follows the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based approach to faith formation that nurtures the child's relationship with God through hands-on work in a specially prepared atrium.
- Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program
- Children's religious education
- Contact: Evelyn Adams
Outreach: Sacred Heart Community Food Basket
The parish runs the Sacred Heart Community Food Basket, a food pantry that distributes food to neighbors in need twice a month. The pantry partners with a local Kohala farm for fresh produce — a 'community harvest initiative' celebrated by the Diocese of Honolulu — and is staffed by volunteers including Liberty Rivera and Lorraine Glory.
- Food distribution twice a month
- Partnership with local farm for fresh produce
- Volunteer leaders: Liberty Rivera and Lorraine Glory
- Typical pickup: 2nd Thursday, 9:00–11:00 AM
- Phone: 808-889-5115
Sacraments & Devotions
In addition to daily Mass and regular Reconciliation, the parish celebrates the sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, and Anointing of the Sick by arrangement through the parish office. The mission church of Our Lady of Grace in Halaʻula also falls under Sacred Heart's pastoral care.
- Reconciliation: Saturday 4:30 PM and by appointment
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — by arrangement
- First Friday Adoration: 6:30–7:30 PM
- Mission: Our Lady of Grace, Halaʻula
Visit, Contact & Getting Involved
Sacred Heart welcomes visitors and locals alike to its weekend liturgies in the heart of historic Hāwī. The parish office can be reached by phone, fax, or email, and online giving is available through the Diocese of Honolulu's parish giving page. Volunteers and donors are welcomed into the food pantry, faith formation, and other ministries.
- Address: 55-3374 Akoni Pule Highway, Hawi, HI 96719
- Mailing: P.O. Box 220, Hawi, HI 96719-0220
- Phone: 808-889-6436 | Fax: 808-889-5698
- Email: [email protected]
- Online giving via catholichawaii.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Arsenius Walsh, SS.CC.from c. 1841
First Picpus Father to minister to Kohala natives.
- Father Dennis Maudet, SS.CC.
Succeeded Walsh in the Kohala mission.
- Father Stanislaus Lebret, SS.CC.
Continued Picpus ministry in Kohala.
- Father Eustache Maheu, SS.CC.until 1860
Built the Waiʻāpuka Catholic Church, dedicated to Saint Louis; died August 25, 1860.
- Saint Damien de Veuster of Molokaʻi, SS.CC.1865–1873
Eight-year pastor of the Kohala mission; built the first Kohala Catholic Church at Halaʻula (Our Lady of Victory).
- Father Gulstan Ropert, SS.CC.from 1873
Succeeded Father Damien; founded the first Catholic school on the island — Saint Ann at Halaʻula — and built a Saint Anthony of Padua church in Kapaʻau.
- Father Aloysius Borghouts, SS.CC.1905
Built the first Sacred Heart Church in Hāwī (later moved to Halaʻula).
- Father Ludger Appleman, SS.CC.1925
Built the present cruciform Sacred Heart church in Hāwī.