Wishing Deacon Raffy and Pinky the warmest Aloha as they join our Mary, Star of the Sea Parish family on July 1, 2019!!

Deacon Rafael “Raffy” Mendoza and Maria Sofia “Pinky” Mendoza

Raffy and Pinky were married in December 1982 and are blessed with three grown up sons (the first two sons are based in Manila, Philippines while the youngest is in Pasadena, California).

Raffy is a management accountant and has worked in well-established multinational and local companies in the Philippines. Throughout his professional career, he was actively involved in a Catholic youth ministry where he met his wife, Pinky. In January 2007, Raffy relocated from Manila, Philippines to Maui to serve as the Director of International Training of Haggai Institute, a Christian ministry that provides an intensive Christian Leadership Training for Evangelization, with the participants coming from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Raffy was ordained Deacon in January 2018 and was assigned at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, where he is also employed as its Business Manager for the Church and the School (St. Theresa School). Eventually, he requested a reassignment of his diaconal ministry and the Bishop assigned him to Mary, Star of the Sea Parish effective July 1, 2019.

Raffy has been a resource speaker for various Catholic ministries in the Diocese, including the Oahu Faith Formation conferences. Currently, he serves as the Renewal Center Director of the Hawaii Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services, as well as a board mem-ber of the Diocese’s Hope Services Hawaii. He considersthe ministry to the sick and dying a special place in his diaconal ministry.