Holy Ghost Catholic Church (Kula, Hawaii)
Encyclopedia
Holy Ghost Catholic Church, also known as Holy Ghost Mission, is an historic octagon-shaped Roman Catholic church building located at 4300 Lower Kula Road in Waiakoa in the Kula district
. It was designed by Father James Beissel and built by his parishioners who were Portuguese
from the Azores
and the Madeira Islands who had come to work on the local sugar plantation. The first mass
was celebrated in it in 1895. It was consecrated in 1899 by Bishop Gulstan Ropert
, the third vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic
of the Sandwich Islands
— now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu
.
On April 29, 1983, it was placed on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places and on August 18, 1983, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It may be the only historic octagonal building in Hawaii.
In 1991 the building was closed for a year in order to undergo a major restoration. Holy Ghost Mission is still an active Roman Catholic congregation, which annually at Pentecost
celebrates the Portuguese Holy Ghost Festival.
Kula, Hawaii
Kula is a district of Maui, Hawaii that stretches across the "up-country", the western-facing slopes of Haleakalā, from Makawao to Ulupalakua. Most of the residential areas lie between about 500 to 1,100 m in elevation...
. It was designed by Father James Beissel and built by his parishioners who were Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
from the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and the Madeira Islands who had come to work on the local sugar plantation. The first mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
was celebrated in it in 1895. It was consecrated in 1899 by Bishop Gulstan Ropert
Gulstan Ropert
Gulstan Ropert, SS.CC., of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary served as the third vicar apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Sandwich Islands — now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, from 1892 to 1903. Born in France at Kerfago, St. Gildas de Rhuys, Morbihan, in...
, the third vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
of the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
— now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu
Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu
The Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, officially in Latin Dioecesis Honoluluensis, is an ecclesiastical territory or particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States...
.
On April 29, 1983, it was placed on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places and on August 18, 1983, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It may be the only historic octagonal building in Hawaii.
In 1991 the building was closed for a year in order to undergo a major restoration. Holy Ghost Mission is still an active Roman Catholic congregation, which annually at Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
celebrates the Portuguese Holy Ghost Festival.