Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church

Dear Parish Family:

As we celebrate our feast day in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, we should know a little about our history and development. It is one that we can be proud of, and I hope that also inspires us. We are the recipients and descendants of a faithful, dedicated people who sacrificed much and gave much to make this parish the faith community that it is. And Our Lady was right there nurturing, encouraging, empowering, and inspiring them. Indeed, we have a lot to be thankful for, and a lot that we can do to carry on the legacy and vision of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish into the future, and for future generations to come. This series of articles over the next few weeks is dedicated to Our Lady and to all of you.

The Catholic Church has a rich history in the Ewa plains dating back to the 1840's. At that time, Fr. Arsenius Walsh, known as the "Apostle of Hawaii," made the Ewa district a regular calling point. In 1855 Fr. Aganthange Froult became the first priest to be assigned here. The first permanent structure was built at Honouliuli. As the new sugar plantation was established and began to grow, so did the population. In 1929, a new church was built in the platation town of Ewa on Renton Road, and was named Immaculate Conception.

In the late 1940's, the Ewa Beach area was attracting new residents. Continued growth was foreseen and the need for a mission church in that area was evident. In 1949, Bishop Sweeney approved the new mission which was built on Fort Weaver Road.

The parishioners of Ewa, Ewa Beach, Barber's Point and their friends all contributed in various ways to raise money such as: private donations, sale of laulaus, fish, sweet bread, pot luck dinners, bingo games, and script. Many donated their labor, time and expertise to complete the new church which remained a mission of Immaculate Conception. It was completed and blessed by Bishop Sweeney in 1951.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help devotions had been introduced to the islands a few years prior to this by Redemptorist priests who conducted retreats in all the parishes. It was suggested by one of the Ewa Beach parishioners to name the new mission church "Our Lady of Perpetual Help." No other church in the islands had that name. The pastor, Fr. Theodore, approved, and the Bishop concurred.

All the church furnishings were donated by the people. It was truly a combined priest-parishioners effort that made the new Catholic church, and the first in Ewa Beach, a reality. In July of 1969, Bishop John Scanlon made Our Lady of Perpetual Help a fully independent parish separate from Immaculate Conception. By then, its Sunday attendance was more than that of Immaculate Conception. Ewa Beach was growing.

It wasn't long after, that a larger church was needed. Adding more Sunday Masses would not adequately meet the needs of the expanding population.

Like a growing child, Our Lady nurtured and nourished the growth of her little church in Ewa Beach. But there just was not enough space at the Ft. Weaver Road location in which to expand. In fact, expanding the church there would be too expensive and insufficient. New land was needed with enough space to build and expand into the future. But where? Would it be affordable? These were not rich people. They were the “roll up you sleeves” kind of people. They were literally the “salt of the earth” that Jesus talked about. The odds for expansion seemed against this new parish. BUT, the odds did not figure on our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Perpetual Help. She would make it possible.

Next: Part II: The School Comes First.

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Aloha ke Akua,

Fr. Scott