Roman Catholic priests from the Order of the Sacred Hearts and
led by Father Alexis Bachelot, first arrived from Europe in July
of 1827. Three priests and three lay brothers celebrated the
first mass of record on Hawaiian soil on July 14, 1827. Under
pressure by American Protestant missionaries, who considered
Catholic doctrine a damning religious error, Kamehameha III
twice expelled the Catholics. When priests reappeared in 1837
and again faced expulsion, the Sandwich Island Gazette newspaper
came to the defense of religious freedom. The French in 1839
also brought pressure upon the king, and in that year Kamehameha
III proclaimed a Declaration of Rights and Edict of Toleration
that granted religious toleration throughout the Islands. This
was a period of fierce verbal attacks between Catholics and
Protestants. The Catholic Mission wanted to have its own press.
In 1841, it bought the Gazette’s old equipment and set up a
print shop on the site of the present Our Lady of Peace
Cathedral, but Father L. D. Maigr