St. Francis nuns thankful to remain at Manoa convent for now

HONOLULU (AP) — Nuns who were ordered to move from the Manoa convent they had been living in for decades will be able to stay there a little longer.

The 25 nuns living in Saint Francis School’s convent were told Tuesday that plans for them to be moved out by spring 2016 have been pushed back, KHON-TV reported (http://bit.ly/1ITsRjd).

The nuns, who are mostly in their 70s to 90s, will remain at the convent until an assisted living center proposed by the St. Francis Healthcare System at Kupuna Village is ready for occupancy. The facility is expected to be complete within two years.

The operators of the convent, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, had initially planned for the nuns to be moved to an assisted living facility in Pearl City next spring. The nuns had the option to move from there to Kupuna Village when it was ready.

Sister Joan of Arc Souza, head of Saint Francis School, said moving twice would not have been ideal, especially for the elderly nuns.

“It has to be tough, so we’re just happy they heard our plea and changed their minds,” she said.

Sister Helen Agnes Ignacio, who taught at the school for more than four decades, said the news is a blessing.

“(The others) were so happy, they started praying, they started singing. I don’t know if they danced, I wasn’t in here,” she said.

The announcement that the nuns were being forced to relocate had sparked outcry from members of the community, including St. Francis School alumni who held a protest against the move.

Carol Caspillo was one of the former students who helped the sisters spread their message about the initial move.

“That was like pulling the rug out from under us when that happened,” Caspillo said. “They have a vow of obedience, so they really could not voice their opinion, so we thought as alumni, we could be their voices because no one is going to stop us.”