Although most of the permanent clergy at the Maryknoll missions did not come out of the Japanese American community, a number of Nikkei clergy, such as Sisters Bernadette and Suzanne, worked among the Japanese American community. One of the first Japanese American Catholics to enter the priesthood was Father Thomas Wataru Takahashi, known also by his friends as “Watson” Takahashi, who built a successful career as a Maryknoll missionary in Los Angeles and in Japan.
Thomas Wataru Takahashi was born on August 3, 1919 in Los Angeles, the son of Japanese immigrants Paul Kanai …