Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace — Attraction in Honolulu

Yes, it's a historic and beautiful church, but if you are a regular and like to attend mass, then this review is for you. This church doesn't have kneelers, for kneeling in prayer. The benches are old and they had them at one time, but never bothered to replace them as they broke. When I first arrived in Hawaii, this church was asking for donations to renovate, and I believe part of the plan included adding kneelers, to which we donated. Now, the renovations are done and guess what? No kneelers. We attended Palm Sunday earlier this week (April 2022) and my wife and I were unable to kneel, as the floor is hard stone, and we are older. The majority of the congregation is elderly, and are unable to kneel. Seriously, what kind of church (a basilica, no less), doesn't give you a proper place to kneel and pray? Is adding kneelers really such a major undertaking?

Also, this is a more minor thing, but the mass was conducted by a priest with a very heavy African or Jamaican accent, and it was very hard to understand him. I am born in America and English is my native language, and couldn't understand a word. My wife, as the majority of the congregation, appeared to be Filipino, so I know THEY had trouble understanding. Just a heads up to the Bishop, or whoever picks the priests....you should take this into consideration. The majority of churchgoers here are elderly, Filipino speakers. Having a church with no kneelers and then sending a priest who they can't understand doesn't do much for us.

Sad to say, but for Easter Sunday we will be heading to St. Anne's, on the other side of the island, where we can properly kneel and understand the sermon.It's a shame, because we live nearby, and love this church, but I want to kneel, and at our ages, we just can't kneel on the stone floor and...

A must visit for both the religious and non-believers as well.Nestled around modern tall buildings, along Bishop street, the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, the “oldest in continuous use” in the country, having been established August 15, 1943, the facade doesn’t really look like old except for its form. When you get inside however, you can see intricate old architecture. The Basilica, we were told by church people”, actually contains a first class relic of St Damien of Molokai (a body part of the saint) and the full remains of St.Marianne of Molokai. Ate Damien and Marianne both devoted their Lost years of their life taking care of lepers in Molokai (leper Colony) where, I was told by a parishioner, both of them contracting the disease themselves later on. We didn’t have the chance to see the relics/remains though. The old cathedral offers a serene ambience conducive to praying. Underground car park is available for free for church goers after having the parking g...

I was married to Carol Inukai on August 27 1988 and will never forget our week in Hawaii because we were in love )1 she was born in Korea and lived in Hawaii 2) met her in Scranton, PA and fell in love only to start dating and 2 years later were married in Hawaii plus Father Terrance Watanabe was our priest who married us and that time in Oahu was so great and I will never forget the time of precious love ultimately raised 3 beautiful sons who are now older and working in their fields of study.The Church was magnificent and priests, bishops, nuns and secular staff were greeted with hospitality. Carol divorced me but I can never remarry since she is a dream and I honor her decision however it hurts to be without her and pray for her everyday....