Just attended mass here. The priest is fantastic, his homily was good and his chanted prayer was beautiful. But, it makes me so sad to see such a beautiful gothic church only to walk in and see giant tv screens on the back wall like it's some kind of conference room. It also breaks my heart to see a choir loft with no choir, and a beautiful organ with no one to play it. Then on top of that, the music is recordings of a piano playing sappy 60s songs and butchering the ancient hymns of our faith. This beautiful parish has so much potential and it would make me so happy to see it flourish with a full choir and an organist and a more reverent liturgy with incense. I will be praying for a restoration of this parish and the diocese. read more

Beautiful, historic church, probably one of only a handful of Gothic style churches in the state of Hawaii. Very convenient mass times. The only downfall causing me to give it four rather than five star rating is the music ministry is very substandard and is screaming for help and more importantly, new leadership. A brand new state-of-the-art Allen organ, an organ the could mimic a very large pipe organ, was installed in the choir loft about 15 years ago when the church had undergone a major renovation. Very sadly, there has never been a COMPETENT (emphasis strongly added) ORGANIST to play it on a regular basis for Sunday mass. There some that have come to play it sporadically (far from consistently), however they are very overwhelmed and are unsure how to play it. To the best of my knowledge the organ is been sitting idle collecting dust. To its credit, Sacred Heart Parish is not alone in the Roman Catholic Dioces of Honolulu, when compared with other Catholic Dioceses across the US mainland and abroad, the diocese Honolulu has done a very paltry job (if any at all) at taking care of organs, pipe organs, and organists in general and that stems from the leadership at the top. Very sad..... read more

This church stole my heart from the very first moment I attended mass while visiting family. The music director/conductor has an angelic voice that makes you want to join in. The Priests always delivers memorable homilies. And the parish members are so welcoming. It's a small and quaint church and humility along with joy fills the room :) read more

Going to church during school hours... kind of a strange concept, right? But... that's how it was. We didn't question. We just did. This is when I attended Maryknoll School in Honolulu from Kindergarten to High School. Yes...my three sisters and I had Catholic parents who believed in Catholic, co-ed education. Part of our curriculum was attending mass. I can't remember how often it occurred. I'm sure that mass wasn't daily, but I do remember the beautiful stained glass windows... I was reminded of those days as I attended the 4pm Alumni Mass on July 20, 2019. It was so convenient to go to Sacred Heart Church on the grounds of Maryknoll Elementary School, across from Punahou School on Wilder Avenue. Mass by Monsignor Gary Secor (Class of 1969) on this special occassion, was held right before the Annual Maryknoll Luau and would count for Sunday's obligation! Deal! The interior of Sacred Heart Church looked clean and fresh while still maintaining a nostalgic feel with its high ceiling and wooden pews. Of course, I found myself staring at the stained glass windows as I did in my youth... Note: regular weekend mass is 5pm on Saturdays; and 7am, 9am, 11am, and 5pm on Sundays read more

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Beautiful old church with stained glass windows. The staff here is fantastic. If you're looking for a Catholic church to attend, come and hear the good word and I think you'll decide to stay. read more

If you are not a catholic then you are not welcome there! The way the person spoke to me on the phone about me attending RCIA when I told him I was baptized Anglican and received my confirmation also as an Anglican was very unwelcomed. read more

My family just loves this church! Both Sacred Heart Church and Saint Pius X Church in Manoa are part of the Punahou Manoa Catholic community. It is located across the street from Punahou School on the Maryknoll School campus. The church is really beautiful, with elegant stain glass windows, and the church is made of carved stone. There is also a nice courtyard that has a fountain that is very peaceful. My husband and I got married in this church and that was before they installed the air conditioner. The church is a lot cooler now!! The Sacred Heart Church community is very friendly. I feel very comfortable and welcomed in this church. The pastor is Father Gordy and he is just amazing!! He's very easy to talk to, and I find his homilies very relevant to my life. read more

The comfort of Ohana combined with a shared faith brings pure Aloha into my heart. Being a neighbor, allows me to walk to church on beautiful Hawaiian Days meeting like minded church-goers for fun conversation in the fresh tropical Makiki air. read more

Maybe I'm a little prejudice but my parish is the most beautiful with the best parishioners and priests. Lol! Everyone is always so kind and welcoming and even with our masks on, you can feel the warm smiles. I always love looking at the stain glassed windows because it's so beautiful! read more

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Not much else to say but just go yourself and see.. I am Christmas Eve for prays and to my surprise the parking lot is really big and they makes you feel welcome. read more

Sacred Heart Church is a beautiful, historic cathedral that's part of the The Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community (East Honolulu Vicariate), with a sister church at Saint Pius X Catholic Church in Manoa Valley. It was built in 1913, and features beautiful architecture and stained glass windows. Fittingly, this church is on the state and national registers of historic places. The community is warm with a good mix of distinguished elders and young families. We've attended since our first child was born in 1998 through today, now with a total of three keiki. We're sometimes the noisiest family there, but rarely get stink eye. Even though we moved out to Mililani years ago, and tried visiting other churches, we still drive all the way into town to attend Sacred Heart each week. It feels like home. I do miss the energetic and articulate sermons of Marc Alexander, and some celebrants are more engaging than others, but church isn't supposed to be a rock concert, anyway. In 2005, Sacred Heart Church came out of a $3 million renovation project, the most notable change being the addition of air conditioning... a great relief to generations of worshippers that have memories of sweating through sermons. They also added projectors (so heathens like me who forget the words to songs and prayers can still follow along) and refinished its elegant koa pews. The electric organ sounds great. (Sometimes, a violinist joins in.) Outside, the courtyard and fountain is a small oasis of peace in urban Honolulu. Our family's only gripe? Inadequately padded kneelers. But it probably keeps me from nodding off, so it could also be a feature. If you're visiting Honolulu and looking for a place to worship, Sacred Heart is a great choice. (Visitors are recognized at Sunday Mass and given simple lei as a token of hospitality.) The church also has Bachelot Hall for special events and rare stage presentations. This church shares grounds with Maryknoll School and is across the street from Punahou School. So sometimes regular weekly events are canceled because of conflicting Maryknoll events and the massive annual Punahou Carnival. The Sunday Mass schedule is pretty solid, but be sure to check the website calendar for anything else. read more

Sacred Heart Church - Churches Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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It's my 500th review and I wanted to make it extra special because well, I've written 500 reviews and that's a freakin' lot of writing! I came to Sacred Heart Parish for the wedding of my friends Leanna and Mike, in which I was a bridesmaid. Leanna has been my friend since college and I always retell the story of our first encounter as cheerleaders at UH. I was there for try-outs and was put into a dance group with Leanna. I introduced myself to her and she was basically a total witch to me. Well I just had to win her over and kept her as my most loyal friend. Isn't life funny? For the wedding rehearsal the priest, a younger man in his 30s, was completely hilarious. He walked the wedding party through what was going to happen at the ceremony and interjected bits of humor. He asked Mike if he would take Leanna to be his dishwasher. And then he asked Leanna if she would take Mike to be her Cabdriver. Errr, I think you just had to be there. I'm happy to say that the big day went off without a hitch (except for me falling down the stairs afterwards, but that's really another story) and my friend Leanna made a beautiful bride. These are the moments that life is all about. Friends, family and love. Sacred Heart Parish is not a grand cathedral but a simple church with stain glass windows and an organ on the second floor. The grounds are small but charming and made a great place for us to take photos after the ceremony. The church is located on the school grounds of Maryknoll Elementary and is located right across the street from Punahou. Don't drive too fast down WIlder because you just might miss it! read more

This is my parish so how can I NOT give it 5 stars! I became a parishioner about 4 years ago and have since baptized my son here and became an active member. I attend and serve at the 7am Sunday service....uh yeah, it's REALLY early and there's not many young families up at this time. But my husband is an early bird so here we are. =) Everyone is very nice and the church community is really involved in AIDS and homeless ministry. As Ryan O said about his own children, even when our toddler is running around and yelling, the congregation LOVES him as they all come up to us after mass, and some even give him gifts! He's become a bit of a mascot there. Again, there's not many young families at 7am, so they love the keiki at this service since a lot of them are grandparents themselves. Out of the other parishes we've checked out when we first moved here, Sacred Heart felt right to us. It is definitely a beautiful church inside and out. If anyone reading this is interested in knowing more about the church etc, please send me a message =) read more

GREEN LIGHT GO: I was a visitor to this parish and I was impressed by the warm and friendly parishioners of this parish! The priest even called out for visitors and welcomed them! He also asked people who were celebrating a birthday or an anniversary to come forward so he could bless them! I have never seen that before but that's a nice way to start your day-- getting a blessing from a holy man! The church itself was cozy and beautiful stain glass artwork. The cantor had a beautiful voice and led the parish into songs at the right time. I really enjoyed the homily as well-- good message and applicable to all walks of life-- not just for die-hard catholics. It was nice because I had brought someone who was not catholic and sometimes when the homilies get a bit specific to catholicism, its hard for others to relate. I was very happy with this church! Parking was easy as well. Red light no: The only reason why I wouldn't return to this parish is the location. I live on the west side and its tough to get to this parish. But I am still a fan! I do wish they would have some more posting of the new changes to the mass. I haven't been going to mass regularly and every time they say "and with your spirit" I get caught off guard! Its tough because I've always enjoyed that no matter where you go, catholic mass is always the same. read more

Beautiful Catholic Church. The architecture and stain glass windows are a nice sight. The courtyard with a tranquil fountain makes it a nice place to relax and unwind before Mass. read more

This is a community church and not monstrous like St. Augustine's. Come early as it fills quickly. Parking is at Maryknoll and can get tight as a can of sardines. read more

Sister Maria How about an edit and opinion Father Paul's sermons are meaningful and refreshing. The parishoners stay awake - Father Ted would be proud of this dedicated priest. Sacred Heart is one of the better traditional Catholic churches in the USA, at the conclusion of mass, they sang Amazing Grace. Remarkably, it is sorely missing from so many churches. Catholic Church music on the whole is boring but it makes up by being dull. Explain, why in each and every church in United States of America, we fail to sing God Bless America? Could there be a more uplifting song. There is no more appropriate song. All the parishioners know the words (indeed a rarity) and the melody inspires them. One awesome salute to both God and country. One on target and blessed concept, let's do it! One specious explanation given was its composer, the renowned Mr. Irving Berlin is Jewish...what a sublime reaction. Time for music, which uplifts the spirit and makes praises both God & Country. Amen A time to echo: GOD BLESS AMERICA ! Patrick former seminarian - Quigley - read more

It's become my parish church - I moved into the neighboring apartments less than a year ago, ok, I moved in across the street! My first 40 years of life was spent at the parish I was born and raised in - then got married and raised a family in. In the past ten years I've questioned my faith - visited and attended (and even assisted as a youth minister/leader) a variety of parishes. I am really getting to like this one! I can walk to church - that is a HUGE plus! I like that there are regulars, but also a bunch of people like me - or who I used to be - who go to different masses. I've met visitors, I've gotten to know my neighbors - (they walk to church too! so we know each other from where we join in or leave as we go to and from church) and I'm enjoying the fact that I've become a regular and can be called by my name as well as call out the name of others. I've finally decided to write this review because of the past Lenten Journey I've taken with this parish. They offered weekly classes - with dvd + questions and answers - they had a few "extra" services to assist the community with a way to better understand their faith lives. I really like that part of this parish community! They offer so much more than just the "daily and Sunday mass" - they are doing what a great Catholic institution should do - they educate, allow for conversation and opportunities to deepen our faith. One final note: the other reviewers, Ryan and Elizabeth write about being young families in this parish. I LOVE that part - they aren't afraid to be in a community that seems AARP-majority card holders ... I consider myself knocking on that door ... but I feel so encouraged by the young couples and young families - it reminds us of our own struggles to keep our faith and pass it on all those years ago. I can ensure any of those young couples that most of us who "been there and done that" are praying extra for you and your families ... I think about my own children and whether or not they are making the same choice to share what I taught them with their children, my mo'opuna! read more

Beautiful church, small and intimate. I thought it would be perfect to celebrate my daughter's quinceanera. Unfortunately, when I called to inquire, I did not feel very welcomed. It felt like what I was asking for was a bother since they had never done one before.I felt like I needed to convince her to take my information. I then realized that maybe this was not the right church for us. This was the first time I didn't feel welcomed at a church. What a let down :(. read more

I love everything about this church. We've been coming here since we moved to the island and it's been a part of our family since. The parishioners are all incredibly nice, they would even bring out a chair for me to sit in the back when I wanted to hold and feed my newborn baby. They have always accommodated us with our needs and have been so understanding of our role as parents during mass. The main reason we go to this church is because of Fr. Paul. His homilies have a way of connecting with people, I feel inspired every time I leave church. Church does not feel like an obligation, it doesn't feel like a long mass, it feels like a spiritual awakening every single time we go. The choir also sings all of the songs I learned back in the mainland from catholic school, so it really feels like home. Lastly, the church is beautiful. Stained glass windows all around, red carpet, air conditioned and intimate, it's by far my favorite church and mass in Hawaii. read more