| Helio Koa'eloa | |
|---|---|
| Apostle of Maui | |
| Born | ca. 1815 Maui, Hawaii, United States |
| Died | 1846 Maui, Hawaii, United States |
Helio Koa'eloa (ca. 1815–1846), was a Hawaiian Catholic lay missionary called as the "Apostle of Maui" for converting about 4,000 natives to the Catholic faith. Landmarks and memorials were dedicated to him at Maui. A cross (called Hâna cross) was erected in Wailua valley in his memory in 1931.
Biography
Koa'eloa was born in 1815 on Wailua Valley, Maui, Hawaii. He was living in Hāna when he heard about the arrival of a new religion, Catholicism. He paddled a canoe to Honolulu to be personally instructed in the faith and to join the church. Then he returned to Maui and instructed over 4,000 people for the Catholic Mission.
At the time Catholics experienced discrimination at the hands of the Protestant majority. The Catholics in Wailuku were ordered by the government to build a Protestant church but they refused. Instead, they consented to fix the roads.
His boundless enthusiasm for the promotion of the Catholic faith earned him the title "Apostle of Maui". Before the Catholic Mission was properly established in Maui, Koa'eloa died in 1848 and was buried in Wailua, the valley of his birth.
References
- "History of the Catholic Mission in the Hawaiian Islands". Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- Akana, Kalani. "Bound by Ropes", Ka Wai Ola, May 1, 2023
- Clark, John R. K. (1989). The Beaches of Maui County by John R. K. Clark. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824812461. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
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