Honolulu’s first ordained Filipino priest dies at 86

Fr. Henry Benedict Sabog, 1931-2017. HAWAII CATHOLIC HERALD

HONOLULU — Father Henry Benedict Sabog, the first priest of Filipino ancestry to be ordained by the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, died at 86 last May 22 in Waipahu.

Sabot served for 57 years as at seven parishes in Oahu, according to a Star-Advertiser report. He was active in Filipino ministries, Worldwide Marriage Encounter, parish renewal and other diocesan work, a news release said.

Sabog initiated the Office for Filipino Ministries in 1985, the Hawaii’s first centralized ethnic ministry. This led to the recruitment of priests from the Philippines for parishes in Hawaii. The state now has some 50 Filipino priests, the largest number of any other ethnic group. Sabog also was spiritual director for many years of the statewide Diocesan Congress of Filipino Catholic Clubs.

Sabog was born March 8, 1931, in Waipahu, one of 10 children of Regino Sabog and Esperanza Nicolas Sabog, who emigrated from Laoag, Ilocos Norte, in 1923 to work in the cane fields of Oahu Sugar Co.

Sabog was ordained in 1960 and served as an associate pastor or pastor at half a dozen parishes before his final assignment at St. George Church, Waimanalo, until the late 1990s when he retired.

Bishop Larry Silva will celebrate his funeral Mass at 10 a.m. June 21 at the Co-cathedral of St. Theresa, 712 N. School St.