The Diocese of Honolulu has formally pulled its support from the Benedictine Monastery of Hawaii in Waialua, stripping it of its status as a Catholic public association of the faithful and ending official diocesan ties as of July 1. The move comes after years of dwindling vocations at the Oahu community, which is now down to two fully professed sisters and a lay resident. The shift will reshape how Mass and Eucharistic devotion take place on the property and leaves open practical questions about care for the remaining members and the future of the land itself.
In a proclamation and a June 23 letter to the community, Bishop Larry Silva wrote that the monastery "can no longer function effectively as such with only two fully professed members" and announced that diocesan support would end July 1, according to the Hawaii Catholic Herald. The letter spells out immediate consequences: no priest will be assigned to celebrate Sunday Mass at the monastery, the community may no longer reserve the Eucharist on its grounds, and the Blessed Sacrament was to be removed from the monastery chapel on July 1. The consecrated hosts, the notice states, are to be placed in the tabernacle at St. Michael Church in Waialua, and it adds that the monastery or any successor entity "has a moral obligation to care for its professed members" and to see to the proper care of mortal remains if the property is ever sold.
History and shrinking roster
The Benedictine presence on Oahu dates back to September 1983 and eventually took root on a 67-acre site in the hills above Waialua, according to Hawaii Benedictines. The community separated from its Italian Olivetan sponsors in 2012 and was recognized the following year as a diocesan public association. The monastery’s website names Sister Celeste Cabral and Sister Mary Jo McEnany among its current members, a lineup that reflects decades of slow but steady decline in professed vocations. For many years the Waialua Benedictines hosted retreats, formed oblates and occasionally helped in parish ministry, but diocesan officials say the sharply reduced roster makes it unrealistic to maintain the structure of a canonical monastery.
Where the Eucharist will be kept
The diocesan letter directs that the contents of the monastery tabernacle be transferred to St. Michael Church in Waialua on July 1, removing the reserved sacrament from the monastery chapel, according to the Hawaii Catholic Herald. St. Michael parish lists regular Masses, benediction and adoration on its calendar, which makes it a natural diocesan home for the Blessed Sacrament, according to the parish website. Parish leaders did not immediately issue any public comment about receiving the tabernacle, while diocesan officials asked local Catholics to keep the remaining sisters in prayer as new pastoral arrangements take shape.
Next steps for the sisters and the property
The diocese has stated that the monastery, or any future entity that might replace it, remains responsible for the health care and housing of its professed members. The directive also notes that if the Waialua property is sold, any mortal remains buried there must be moved to an appropriate Catholic burial place. The Benedictine community’s own site says it continues to offer retreats and oblate formation while working through the canonical and practical fallout of the diocesan decision, and state business records still list Benedictine Monastery of Hawaii, Inc. as an active corporation based in Waialua. Local Catholics and diocesan officials will be watching to see whether a successor group emerges, how the property might be repurposed or sold, and what long-term pastoral support will be arranged for the small community that remains on the hillside.
