Holy Ghost Mission

Holy Ghost Mission

Beginning in 1879,  thousands of Portuguese Catholics immigrated to Maui from the Azores and  Madeira Islands for jobs as contract laborers for the sugar  plantation.  Along with their families, they brought with them their  devotion to the Catholic Church, the Holy Ghost, and the traditions  surrounding the crown of Queen Elizabeth of Portugal.  Completing their  contracts, many moved to the Kula area as independent ranchers and  farmers.

Father James Beissel  arrived in the Makawao Catholic District in 1882, and by 1886, he was  managing the district and offering masses in the home of a parishioner  in the Kula area.  The increasing number of families in the district led  him to initiate the building of the mission church that was to become  our Holy Ghost Mission.  The two acres of land on which it was  built were donated by Louis and Randal von Tempsky in Waiakoa, and  the building was financed by weekly auctions of cattle by local  ranchers.

Father Beissel himself  designed the church, whose octagonal design is still unique in Hawaii.   His inspiration may have come from either the shape of Queen  Elizabeth's crown, the design of Charlemagne's chapel, which he had seen  at home in Austria, or similar chapels on the coast of Portugal.  Work  began in December 1894 with all able men donating their skills and  labor, and by the end of 1895 the church was complete, with the  exception of a few details, and the first masses were held. 

The richly decorated  altar and the Portuguese language Stations of the Cross were  commissioned by Father Beissel in 1895 and were carved by the famous  artisan and master woodcarver, Ferdinand Stuflesser, from Groden, Tirol,  Austria.  Shipped in nine separate crates around the Cape of Good Hope  to Hawaii, the altar and stations were hauled by oxcart from Kahului  Harbor to Waiakoa and reassembled by the faithful members of the  parish.  They are recognized now as examples of museum-quality  ecclesiastical art of that time.  In January of 1899 Bishop Ropert  Gulstan of Honolulu arrived to officiate at the formal dedication the  church. 

On April 29, 1983, the  church was placed on the Hawaii Register of Historical Places,  recognizing it as a landmark with significance in Hawaiian history,  architecture, and culture, and some time later it was added to the  National Register.  In 1991, under the leadership of Father Michael  Owens, a major restoration of the church and altars was initiated,  requiring the closure of the church for about one year.  In 1995, the  parish was able to celebrate its Centennial year in its resplendent,  restored condition.  The last payment of the restoration debt of about  $1.25 million was celebrated on May 17, 2000 under the leadership of Fr.  Tom Heinzel, who served the parish from 1992 to 2006.

Today the church is  widely known as a popular tourist attraction and choice for weddings and  is still a vibrant working parish noted for its annual Holy Ghost Feast  and for its delicious Portuguese sweetbread, baked fresh on the second  Sunday of each month. (There will be no bread for purchase in April and  May in preparation for the feast.)