Opening Mass · Statewide Vicariates
✠Statewide Celebration IVEast Hawaiʻi Island VWest Hawaiʻi Island VIMaui Vicariate VIIMolokaʻi & Lānaʻi VIIIKauaʻi VicariateAll Souls Day · Diocese of Honolulu Bicentennial 1827–2027
All Souls Day Bicentennial Mass
Beneath the Shade of an Iron Cross —
Where 200 Years of Devotion Rest in Stone
In the heart of a city that has grown up all around it, the King Street Catholic Cemetery is the final resting place of the men and women who built the Catholic Church in Hawaiʻi. To stand here on All Souls Day is to stand at the very root of the story.
The Commemoration Of The Faithful Departed
All Souls Day — the day the universal Church remembers and prays for the souls of all who have gone before us in faith.
King Street Catholic Cemetery
One of the oldest Catholic cemeteries in Hawaiʻi — a quiet, sacred plot in the heart of urban Honolulu where two centuries of faithful are laid to rest.
An Outdoor Mass At The Iron Cross
The Mass will be celebrated outdoors beneath the iron cross that marks the resting place of the four bishops and the early Sacred Hearts community.
All Are Welcome
Open to all the faithful, descendants of those buried here, parishioners, visitors, and anyone who wishes to share this quiet hour of remembrance.
A quiet place of memory in the middle of a living city.
On November 2, 2026 — the Feast of All Souls — the Diocese of Honolulu will gather at the King Street Catholic Cemetery for an outdoor Bicentennial Mass at the foot of the iron cross. It is a deliberate return to the foundations of our story, on the day the Church remembers and prays for all who have gone before us in faith.
Beneath the shade of an iron cross, in the heart of a city that has grown up all around it, rest the men and women who built the Catholic Church in Hawaiʻi — four of Hawaii's earliest bishops and forty early members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. They are not in a remote sanctuary or a mountaintop chapel. They are here, in downtown Honolulu, surrounded now by office towers and traffic lights, exactly where they chose to lay down their lives.
To stand at this sacred ground on All Souls Day is to stand at the very root of the story. All are welcome to join this outdoor Mass — a quiet place of memory in the middle of a living city, where 200 years of devotion, sacrifice, and love are written in stone.
Plan Your Visit
Four bishops. Forty missionaries. Generations of faithful.
They endured persecution. They crossed oceans. They gave everything so that the Gospel might take root in these islands. These are the names beneath the iron cross — and the names beside them, in every direction, that built the Catholic Church in Hawaiʻi.
"They endured persecution, crossed oceans, and gave everything so that the Gospel might take root in these islands."
Bishop Hermann Koeckemann, SS.CC.
The third Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands and one of the earliest shepherds of the mission. A German member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, he led the Church in Hawaiʻi during decades of growth, ministering to St. Damien and supporting the early work at Kalaupapa.
Bishop Gulstan Ropert, SS.CC.
The fourth Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands. A French missionary of the Sacred Hearts, he served the islands during a time of immense change — guiding parishes, schools, and the faithful through the final years of the Hawaiian Kingdom and into a new era.
Bishop Libert Boeynaems, SS.CC.
The fifth Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands. A Belgian member of the Sacred Hearts, he shepherded the diocese for nearly two decades, expanding parish life and Catholic education across the islands during the early twentieth century.
Bishop Stephen Alencastre, SS.CC.
The sixth Vicar Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands — and the first to have grown up in Hawaiʻi. A Madeiran-born son of Portuguese immigrants raised on Maui, Bishop Alencastre's life is itself a portrait of the local Church coming into its own.
Beside the four bishops lie forty of the earliest priests, brothers, and sisters of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary — the men and women who carried the faith across the Pacific from France beginning in 1827. They endured persecution from the Hawaiian Kingdom in the mission's earliest years, crossed oceans on journeys that took months, and gave everything so that the Gospel might take root in these islands.
Alongside them rest the lay faithful who built the Church in their own homes and neighborhoods — among them Manuel Nunes, the Madeiran cabinetmaker who gifted Hawaiʻi the ukulele; Robert William Wilcox, the patriot and statesman; and generations of Portuguese, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, and immigrant Catholics whose names line the paths of this small, sacred plot.
In the middle of downtown Honolulu — the very root of the story.
The King Street Catholic Cemetery is not preserved in remoteness. It is preserved exactly where it was always meant to be — in the city it helped to build.
For a century and a half, the city of Honolulu has grown taller, faster, louder. Towers have risen. Highways have arrived. Generations of new residents have walked past the modest iron gate on King Street without knowing what lies behind it. But the cemetery has stayed exactly where it has always been — quiet, dignified, and held in trust by the Diocese of Honolulu.
To gather here on All Souls Day is to remember that the Catholic Church in Hawaiʻi did not arrive from a distance. It was built, name by name, by people who lived and died on these islands and chose to be buried in their soil. The iron cross at the center of the grounds is not a monument. It is a marker — pointing simultaneously down into the earth where the foundations rest, and up into the sky where they hoped to one day be welcomed home.
At midday on November 2, 2026, the Diocese gathers in their company — not separated by glass, not viewed from a distance, but standing on the very ground they consecrated with their lives.
What to know before you come.
All Souls Day Bicentennial Mass — November 2, 2026
An Outdoor Liturgy in a Working Cemetery
The Bicentennial Mass will be celebrated outdoors at the foot of the iron cross marking the bishops' and Sacred Hearts community burial site. Seating is informal — the faithful are encouraged to bring a small folding chair if needed, especially for the elderly or those who prefer not to stand for the duration of Mass.
The cemetery grounds are uneven in places, with grass paths and historic stone markers. Comfortable, flat footwear is recommended. The outdoor Mass is open to the elements; please dress for the weather and bring water if needed.
Out of respect for those buried here, attendees are kindly asked to remain on the established paths, refrain from leaning against or sitting on grave markers, and keep voices low before and after the liturgy. The cemetery is a living sacred space — please treat it as you would the inside of a church.
Parking is limited on the cemetery grounds themselves. Street parking is available along King Street and nearby side streets, with additional public lots within walking distance. Carpooling is encouraged.
Stand at the very root of the story.
The Bicentennial Mass on All Souls Day is open to everyone. Let us know you're coming, request a name to be remembered, or stay connected to the rest of the year's celebrations.
Join Us — November 2, 2026
No reservation is required to attend the outdoor Mass, but letting us know you're coming helps us prepare seating, hospitality, and worship aids for the Mass. If you have a loved one buried at King Street Cemetery whose name you would like remembered during the Mass intentions, we welcome that submission as well.
The Year of Remembrance Continues
All Souls Day is one of many sacred moments in the Bicentennial year — from the Opening Mass on July 9, 2026 to the Feast Days of St. Marianne Cope and St. Damien, the ACCE 2027 conference, and the grand three-day Convocation in July 2027. Sign up to be part of every moment that follows.