Island-born priest ordained, installed for Honolulu Diocese

Published: 2005-07-29

HONOLULU (CNS) -- Hawaii's Catholics welcomed their new shepherd with a jubilant embrace July 21 with the ordination and installation of island-born Bishop Clarence R. Silva as the fifth bishop of Honolulu. An estimated 5,000 people gathered in the Neal Blaisdell Center Arena in Honolulu to witness and participate in a liturgy radiant with color and tradition, brimming with music and enlivened by spontaneous applause. The event was historic in substance and scope. It was the first time in Hawaii that a diocesan bishop was ordained and installed in the same ceremony. Joining the celebration were three archbishops and 15 bishops, 150 priests and 50 deacons. About 15 of the deacons and 60 of the priests were from Oakland, Calif., the diocese in which Bishop Silva grew up and served as a priest for 30 years. Several hundred of the laity present were related to the new bishop, a descendent of three generations of Hawaiian residents.

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