St. Michael the Archangel Church (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii)

About

Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church of Hawaiʻi in the United States. Located in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, 75-5769 Ali'i Drive, coordinates 19°38′13″N 155°59′28″W.

The church falls under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Honolulu and its bishop. On June 17, 1839, Kamehameha III declared religious freedom in the Kingdom in the Edict of Toleration. A mission named after Saint Michael the Archangel was founded in 1840, the first Catholic Church on the island. The first services were in a small grass hut. Governor John Adams Kuakini gave the land South of Mokuʻaikaua Church to the Catholic mission in 1841. The present church was completed in 1850 under Father Joachim Merechel. He was buried inside the church in 1859. In 1940 Father Benno Evers constructed a grotto of coral from Kailua Bay over the site of the original well.