On this ChurchSunday I visit St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hilo. St. Joe’s, as it is known locally, has long served east Hawaii. The church’s original structure was built in the early 1840s of pili grass along Bayfront.
In the 1880s the saw a large influx of Portuguese immigrants who came to work on the island’s sugar plantations. Father Puozot, who at the time was pastor of the parish, learned Portuguese and started preaching services in Portuguese, as well as Hawaiian and English. To this day, Portuguese parishioners play an important role in the Catholic Church in Hawaii.
St. Joseph’s current church was built at the corner of Haili and Kapiolani St. and completed in 1919. Father Puozot also started St. Joseph’s school, which at one time taught nearly 1,000 local students. Today, the school is located a few blocks away on Ululani St.
St. Joseph’s is an active parish with services held several times a week.