Timeline of Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo’s service in Hawaii

1993

• Oct. 11, 4 p.m.: Arrives in Honolulu.
• Oct. 12: Holds news conference with Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario who announces his retirement and Bishop DiLorenzo’s appointment as apostolic administrator. Meets chancery staff. Through the rest of the week, he meets individually with department heads and vicars and tours the neighbor islands.
• Nov. 7: Flies back to Scranton to pack and to say his farewells.
• Nov. 15-18: Attends the National Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Washington, D.C.
• Dec. 2-6: Makes ad limina visit to Rome and the Holy Father as required of every diocesan bishop every five years. While there, he visits with Mother Teresa of the Missionaries of Charity.

1994

• Jan. 20: Presides at his first diocesan Red Mass. Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan of the Diocese of Brooklyn is the homilist.
• Jan. 21: Attends 21st annual March for Life and gives the opening prayer.
• Feb. 1: Holds press conference to support Hawaii legislation that would define marriage as a man-woman relationship. He calls same-sex marriage an “irresponsible social experiment.”
• April 6: Sends a letter to state senators urging them to pass a bill that would preserve marriage in Hawaii as the union between a man and a woman. The bill is a response to a Hawaii Supreme Court decision the previous year, which stated that preventing members of the same sex from marrying each other was unconstitutional.
• June 30: Diocesan chief financial officer Robert Lippi retires. His responsibilities are transferred to diocesan controller William Burton.
• July 1: The diocesan Office for Social Ministry moves its office to the Big Island and gains a new director, Carol Ignacio, who also remains director of Hawaii Island Social Ministry. She works as a team with Sharon Chiarucci for Oahu and Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Rosealani Enomoto for Maui.
• July 1: In a letter to pastors, officially allows altar girls in the Diocese of Honolulu starting July 11, four months after the Vatican grants permission for individual dioceses to permit female altar servers.
• July 31: Breaks ground for the new Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio-Gentry with Father Edward Turner, pastor.
• Oct. 4: After serving a year as apostolic administrator, Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo is named by Pope John Paul II as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu.
• Oct. 21: Hawaii Catholic Conference publishes its first candidate questionnaire election survey.
• Oct. 24-28: Calls his first clergy convocation at the Turtle Bay Hilton on Oahu’s North Shore.
• Nov. 4: Holy Family Sister Mary Lange is appointed as the new director of the Office of Worship.
• Nov. 29: Is installed as the Bishop of Honolulu at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
•             Names Marianist Father John F. Bolin as vicar general.
•             Establishes an Advisory Board for Persons with Disabilities.

1995

• Jan. 13: Bishop DiLorenzo creates a seven-member diocesan theological commission.
•             Patricia Tossey is named to the newly created post of administrative assistant to the bishop.
• Feb. 3: Begins round of visits to each vicariate to celebrate with parishioners who could not join him at the Nov. 30 installation ceremony.
• March 15: Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace begins renovation with a termite tenting, a new Spanish tile roof, exterior paint job, repair to the stained glass windows, a new weathervane and a working clock. The estimated repair costs are $450,000.
• March 24: Sends a letter to pastors asking them to appoint volunteer “parish advocates” for persons with disabilities to assist the Office for Social Ministry in bringing those with disabilities into greater participation in church life.
• April 2: Ordains Philippines-born Romeo Rabusa, 27, as a transitional deacon.
• June 4: Participates in the beatification ceremony of Father Damien DeVeuster presided over by Pope John Paul II in Brussels, Belgium.
• June 23: Lava flow closes Star of the Sea Mission in Kalapana on the Big Island.
• July: Ordains eight permanent deacons in five ceremonies on four islands.
• July 4: Rededicates two west Kauai churches, Holy Cross Church, Kalaheo, and Sacred Hearts in Eleele, which were renovated following damage by Hurricane Iniki in September, 1992.
• July 9: Celebrates the Mass and re-interment ceremony of a relic of Blessed Damien de Veuster in a grave alongside St. Philomena Church in Kalawao, Molokai, where he was originally buried 106 years earlier. More than 500 pilgrims join patients and residents of Kalaupapa for the event.
• July 15: Joins church, government and diplomatic leaders in honoring Blessed Damien in an ecumenical, civic and cultural program celebrating his beatification outside of Iolani Palace in Honolulu. More than 1,000 people attend the event including Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium.
• Aug. 6: Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio-Gentry celebrates its first Mass in its new church.
•             Dr. Sue Wesselkamper is named president of Chaminade University of Honolulu.
• Sept. 30: Tom Dinell retires as the diocesan director of Catholic Charities.
•             Msgr. Daniel Dever announces his retirement as superintendent of Catholic Schools.
• Oct. 14: Ordains Romeo Rabusa to the priesthood.
• Oct. 9: Names Jerry Rauckhorst as the new diocesan director of Catholic Charities.
• Oct. 16: Announces the sharing of one pastor by two Maui parishes as a way to address the priest shortage. The parishes are Holy Rosary Church, Paia, and St. Rita Church, Haiku. The pastor is Father Gary Colton.
• Dec. 8: Rededicates Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina, Maui’s oldest Catholic Church. The 140-year-old building has been closed since May 1 for extensive renovation.
• March 1: Joseph McHugh is named superintendent of Hawaii’s Catholic schools, replacing Msgr. Dever, who retired after 42 years in the position.
• March 28: Writes to Pope John Paul II to request that the cause for the canonization of Mother Marianne Cope of Molokai be advanced.
• September: Creates an eight-person team to address enrollment and financial concerns of Maui Catholic Schools.
• Oct. 12: Joins hundreds at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Arena for the Second Annual Bishop Concert of Choirs sponsored by the Office of Ethnic Ministries.
• Oct. 10: Walks in the Men’s March Against Violence through downtown Honolulu, an event he would come to attend annually. It is sponsored by Catholic Charities and others.
• Oct. 31: Blesses the new headquarters for the Office for Social Ministry in Hilo which houses Hawaii Island Catholic Social Ministry, Hawaii Island Food Bank, Care-A-Van, Emergency Assistance and other offices.

1997

• Jan. 15: Appoints Maryknoll Sister Dorothy Lim as Vicar for Ethnic Ministries.
• Jan. 17: Delivers the homily at the Red Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, urging lawmakers to be more spiritual, humble and forgiving.
• Jan. 31: Bishop John J. Scanlan dies in his sleep in California at age 90. His body is later interred in a crypt at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, Honolulu. Bishop DiLorenzo presides over the funeral Mass.
• Jan. 24, Attends a rally of an estimated 6,000 supporters of traditional marriage gathered for a pro-marriage rally at the state capitol.
• March 30: Celebrates Easter Mass at Halawa Correctional Facility.
• April 7: Blesses the new Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Papaikou on the Big Island. The new church replaces one destroyed by fire in 1989.
• April 25: Joseph McHugh resigns as superintendent of Catholic schools.
• May 1: St. Theresa Mission in Kukuihaele on the Big Island is officially closed due to “inactivity and because the structure is unsafe and poses a hazard.”
• July 11: Catholic Charities has its first Island Treasures banquet for parish volunteers at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. Bishop DiLorenzo presents each of the 39 honorees with a calabash bowl. The annual event grows every year.
• Aug. 4: St. Francis School, Manoa, opens a co-ed high school on Kauai.
• Aug 8: Ordains John Berger to the transitional diaconate at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Wahiawa.
• Sept. 19: Releases the Welcoming Parish Document, written as a guide for improving parish life in the areas of community, worship, Word and service.
• Dec. 25: Appoints Carmen Himenes as the superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools.

1998

• Feb 20: Appoints Iwie Tamashiro as the part-time director of the new diocesan office, the Ministry for Persons with Disabilities.
• April19-May 14: Participates as one of the two papally-appointed American delegates to the Synod of Asian Bishops in Rome.
• June 5: Ordains John Berger a priest at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.
• July 1: Appoints Father Joseph Grimaldi as judicial vicar.
• June 8: Following a directive from the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, asks all Hawaii parishes and schools stop using dance in liturgical services.
• Sept. 27-Oct. 5: Makes his second ad limina trip to Rome.
• Oct. 12: Appoints Errol Christian as director of the Hawaii Catholic Conference.

1999

• Jan. 3: Issues a new set of norms stating that “sacred gestures” derived from Pacific and Asian cultures may be used in liturgies in the Diocese of Honolulu. The guidelines state that bodily gestures and motions, which have their origins in native dance traditions, may be used as prayer but not performance.
• Feb. 14: Dedicates the new St. Jude Church in Makakilo.
• June 4: Ordains Steve Nguyen a priest for the diocese at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
• July 1: Creates Oahu’s first pastor-sharing arrangement with the appointment of Father Marc Alexander as pastor of both Sacred Heart Parish, Punahou, and St. Pius X, Manoa.
• Dec. 25: Opens the doors of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace to symbolically begin the Holy Year 2000 announced by the Holy Father.

2000

• Jan. 28: Celebrates a Mass welcoming the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux on their final American stop around the world.
• April 14: Appoints the first layman as chancellor of the Diocese o f Honolulu. John Ringrose, a judge for the diocesan tribunal, succeeds Msgr. Raymond Nishigaya.
• June 13: More than 500 people diocese-wide attend the Diocesan Synod 2000. The three-day convention, the result of two years of preparation, produces 12 proposals for action, with youth ministry taking the two top priorities.
• July 1: Appoints two vicars general, Father Thomas Gross and Father Joseph Grimaldi, to replace Marianist Father John Bolin, who retired at the end of June.
•             Appoints deacon Walter Yoshimitsu as manager of the new Office for Diocesan Services to manage diocesan central offices and personnel and oversee the implementation of the diocesan Synod 2000 among other duties.

2001

• May 18: Joins Bishop Ferrario at a Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa to celebrate the retired bishop’s 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.
• July: Ordains 18 deacons in ceremonies on four islands bringing the number of deacons in the diocese to 50.
• July 2: Kauai’s only Catholic high school, St. Francis School, closes after failing to reach enrollment goals.
• Aug. 28: Undergoes heart catheterization treatment at St. Francis Medical Center.
• Oct. 27: Celebrates Mass for the dedication of the new St. Ann Church in Kaneohe.
• Nov. 13: Is named chairman-elect of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Science and Human Values during the bishops’ general meeting in Washington, D.C.

2002

• Jan. 12: Ordains William Kunisch to the priesthood at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.
• March: Asks the diocese’s Standing Committee on Sexual Misconduct to convene to study accusations of sexual abuse of minors by clergy in Hawaii. He admits to have removed four priests from public ministry about nine years earlier because of substantiated accusations of sexual abuse against a minor. He states that he knows of no priest presently active in Hawaii who has had a substantiated accusation made against him.
• April 5: Sends letters of encouragement to Hawaii’s priests in light of the clergy sex abuse scandal rocking the American Church, thanking them for acting “nobly and well.”
• April 12: Publishes a message in the Hawaii Catholic Herald urging the faithful to reject physician-assisted suicide calling it an “offense against the dignity of the human person, a crime against life, and an attack on humanity.”
• May 17: Places Sacred Hearts Father Joseph Bukoski, pastor of Maria Lanakila Parish, Lahaina, on administrative leave following allegations of sexual abuse of a minor which allegedly occurred 20 years prior.
• June 31: Maryknoll Sister Grace Dorothy Lim retires as the director of the Office of Ethnic Ministries.
• Aug. 1: Permanently removes Father Bukoski from public priestly ministry following a second accusation of sexual abuse of a minor approximately 25 years prior.
• Oct. 1: Promulgates the new adaptation to the Roman Missal, which was approved by Pope John Paul II on Holy Thursday, 2000, and became universal law on March 18, 2002.

2003

• Jan. 24: Removes Father Roberto Batoon, administrator of the Molokai Catholic Community, and directs him to return to his home diocese in the Philippines following accusations of sexual abuse which allegedly occurred in the Philippines.
• Feb. 14: Releases a revised Welcoming Parish Document which launches a second phase of parish self-study process. During the first phase he visited each parish in the diocese.
• March 12: Initiates a diocesan tribunal to investigate an alleged miraculous healing attributed to the intercession of Blessed Damien. The six-member tribunal gathered evidence and testimony for the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints for the canonization of Blessed Damien, completing their work on April 16.
• March 22: Offers prayers for those in conflict in Iraq and said that he hopes “that things will end as speedily as possible.”
• May 2: Urges Governor Linda Lingle in a letter to veto a bill which would force St. Francis Medical Center to administer emergency contraceptives to rape victims, stating the drug could also act as an abortifacient.
• June 15: Blesses the new Annunciation Church in Kamuela.
• June 30: Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Kathleen Marie Shields retires as the Director of Religious Education after 20 years.
• July 1: Lorie Crepeau is named as the new diocesan Director of Religious Education.
• Oct. 11: Marks 10th anniversary of arrival in Hawaii to be the diocese’s apostolic administrator.
• Oct. 7: Visits 70 patients and staff at the Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe.
• March 28: Announces that three pairs of Big Island parishes will each share one pastor.
• Dec. 12: Retired Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario dies unexpectedly at St. Francis Medical Center.
• Dec. 19: Bishop DiLorenzo presides over the funeral Mass of Bishop Ferrario, at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.

2004

• Jan. 8: Mandates for all priests and himself attends a “Creating and Maintaining Safe Environments” session, at the St. Stephen Diocesan Center. The educational session was one of the actions required by the U.S. Bishops in response to the nation-wide clergy sex abuse scandal.
• Jan. 11: Accepts 21 men as deacon candidates during a Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa.
• Jan. 22: Delivers the homily during the Red Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.
• Jan 23: Blesses the new multi-purpose complex at Star of the Sea Parish, Kuliouou.
• March 31: Pope John Paul II appoints Bishop DiLorenzo as Bishop of Richmond, Va.
• May 16: Leaves Hawaii for Richmond where he will be installed as bishop on May 24.