Stephen Alencastre
Encyclopedia
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...
— 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...
. In addition to being the Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands, he was titular bishop of Arabissus in Italy.
He was the first bishop of Hawai‘i to have been raised in the Hawaiian 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...
, and after continuing and completing much of the work begun by his Sacred Hearts predecessors, the mission area of the Hawaiian Islands was then elevated to the official diocese of Honolulu by the Pope within a few months following his death. The history of the Catholic Sacred Hearts mission in the Hawaiian Islands was documented by one of the order's priests and later compiled and published in a book called Pioneers of the Faith.
Bishop Alencastre's personal mission included continuing to expand the number of schools and parish churches in the Islands (and to renovate the existing ones) and to build a seminary to form vowed religious locally to the priesthood. This came to fruition with the building of St. Stephen's Seminary, named in honor of the Bishop's own patron saint. The seminary is still in use to present-day. The Bishop was also partly responsible for the increase in the variety of religious orders in Hawaii, inviting such groups as the Sisters of St. Joseph de Carondolet to help with the growth of the Catholic faith in the Islands.
Born on the island of Porto Santo
Porto Santo Island
Porto Santo Island is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa.- History :...
in the Madeira Islands of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
as Estêvão Pedro de Alencastre, and brought to Hawaii as an infant, Alencastre later returned to Europe to finish his seminary studies in Belgium. He was ordained to the priesthood on April 5, 1902, at the age of 25, as a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is a Roman Catholic religious order of brothers, priests, and nuns...
and returned to serve the people of Hawaii. When Msgr. Libert H. Boeynaems
Libert H. Boeynaems
Libert H. Boeynaems, formally Libert Hubert John Louis Boeynaems, SS.CC., , was the fourth vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands — now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu....
fell ill, Msgr. Alencastre was appointed co-adjutor vicar apostolic with right of succession on April 29, 1924. On August 24 of that year, it was then that he was ordained bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the titular see
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
of Arabissus at the age of 47. On May 13, 1926, Alencastre succeeded Boeynaems as vicar apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Alencastre died while returning to Hawaii on a boat from Los Angeles in 1940 and was interred at the Honolulu Catholic Cemetery
Honolulu Catholic Cemetery
The Honolulu Catholic Cemetery is a cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii. The cemetery is for Roman Catholics and is located at 839-A South King Street, . It is maintained by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and has been the final resting place for many Roman Catholics from Honolulu before 1930. The...
in downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu
Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, governmental, and central part of Honolulu—bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Honolulu Harbor to the south—situated within the larger Honolulu District...
. Following his death, he was given the title "Officer of the Royal Crown" by Belgium, and a street in Honolulu also carries the Bishop's surname in his honor.
A window in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace — also known by its original French name Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix, its Portuguese variant Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz and its Hawaiian derivative Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui — is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Honolulu and houses...
in Honolulu depicts his episcopal crest, as well as a portrayal of a blessing being bestowed upon him by Pope Pius XI. His episcopal motto was "Opportet illum regnare," derived from a phrase in 1 Corinthians
First Epistle to the Corinthians
The first epistle of Paul the apostle to the Corinthians, often referred to as First Corinthians , is the seventh book of the New Testament of the Bible...
15: 24-26, meaning "He (Christ) must reign." Bishop Alencastre was the first to include in his episcopal crest: the pūlo‘ulo‘u (kapu sticks) and the colors of the Hawaiian flag. In keeping with the traditions of ecclesiastical heraldry
Ecclesiastical heraldry
Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition of heraldry developed by Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It is most formalized within the Catholic Church, where most bishops, including the Pope, have a...
, he utilized the green galero
Galero
A galero in the Catholic Church is a large, broad-brimmed tasseled hat worn by clergy. Over the centuries the galero was eventually limited in use to individual cardinals as a crown symbolizing the title of Prince of the Church...
, a hat reserved for bishops and cardinals
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, at the top of his crest.