On the Sunday following Easter, members of the University community gathered to celebrate the spiritual journeys of six Catholic Chaminade students as they received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Fr. Christopher Wittmann, S.M., director of Campus Ministry at Chaminade, said the six students started meeting weekly in October with faculty members and staff who served as their catechists. They then received Confirmation at a Mass on April 27 at the Mystical Rose Oratory.
The six are: Lance Carlo, AJ Dahlk, Theresa Fabian, Soso Hayes, Mimi Smith and Brenna White.
A seventh student, Dilubech Hideyos, received Confirmation at a separate Mass on Kauai.
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Confirmation, which with Baptism and First Communion is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation into the Catholic Church, “calls upon the Holy Spirit to fill the person with the gifts of the spirit; to seal and strengthen them in their journey of Christian discipleship,” Wittmann explained, adding that Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva delegates administration of Confirmation to priest pastors during the liturgical Season of Easter.
Wittmann said the students, working with their catechists, “studied the core beliefs and practices of the Catholic faith, prayed together and discussed church teaching and their own faith journeys.”
Hideyos went through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults process, receiving all three Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil Mass at Immaculate Conception Parish Confirmation on Kauai.
Connor Torres, a young adult member of the Mystical Rose Oratory worshipping community, also received Confirmation with the six Chaminade students.
Brenna White, set to graduate in 2028 with a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, said receiving Confirmation at the Mystical Rose Oratory represented a significant rite of passage in her life.
“When I was a little girl, I went to church back home on Maui, getting baptized as a baby and attending Sunday classes to prepare for my First Communion,” she said. “Life got busy, and we became preoccupied with other things so we stopped going to church regularly. Participating in Confirmation now feels important to me because it reconnects me with my faith foundation.”
She added, “Even though I drifted away from it for a while, it’s always been a part of me. It represents a fresh commitment and a personal decision to grow in my relationship with God.”
White said after graduation she hopes to return to Maui to begin her career as a nurse.
“Through my time at Chaminade and my involvement in the Church, I’ve come to recognize that caring for others is the gift God has given me,” she said. “I hope to continue growing both professionally and personally, leaning on the values of faith and community.”
“I’m excited to give back to my community and use my gift to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Being involved in the church while at Chaminade has really taught me to take things one day at a time. College can feel overwhelming sometimes with everything going on, but my faith has reminded me that it’s OK to slow down, breathe and trust that things will work out.”