He'd returned to his office to see he'd missed nine phone calls, including one from a Sister Paloma that was "a matter of sensitivity."

He returned that call first.

In accented English, Sister Paloma asked him to hold for Monsignor Montalvo. It wasn't until Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo picked up his end that Estabrook realized he was talking to the papal nuncio for the United States, the pope's representative here.

"It's my pleasure to announce that Pope John Paul II has appointed you bishop," Montalvo said.

Estabrook was stunned. He had no inkling this had ever been set into motion. As a matter of fact, he was planning to retire as chaplain the next year.

He responded: "Are you sure?"

The papal nuncio didn't laugh. Instead, he uttered four words that have shaped Estabrook's life since then: "Do not be afraid."

For Estabrook, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of the Military, it's been an interesting year of not being afraid.

Estabrook, who returned to Hawai'i this week, said of the day he learned about the appointment: "I stepped into a tornado after that."

He's back here as part of a tour visiting 49 bases west of the Mississippi, stopping by way of San Diego to celebrate the dedication of a new base chapel at Kane'ohe.

It's a project near and dear to his heart: As command chaplain at Kane'ohe, he'd spearheaded the effort to get a chapel for Marines who had until then been meeting in a former mess hall.

Originally, Estabrook had planned to retire just after the opening of his pet project. He'd had a nice long tenure at Kane'ohe, retiring as a monsignor. He could see his dream of a place of worship be realized for the spectrum of Island chaplains from a variety of backgrounds: Catholic, Assembly of God, Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, Disciples of Christ.

The chapel will offer four Sunday Christian services, two of which will be Mass for Catholics.

When the chapel at Kane'ohe broke ground, Estabrook had estimated that 10 percent of troops were liturgical Protestant (Episcopalian, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ and other denominations that celebrate communion and baptism); and a third nonliturgical Protestant. There's also a smaller percentage of Muslims, with Jewish, Buddhist and other faiths making up less than 1 percent.

But since the groundbreaking, fate in the form of a papal announcement intervened.

Estabrook recalled asking Montalvo at the time of the original call if he could hang up the phone and pray about the decision. Montalvo told him firmly, "Pope John Paul has already prayed about it." So there was no turning back.

In less than a year, Estabrook went from serving 12,000 troops at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i — about a third Catholic — to an archdiocese that has 375,000 active-duty Catholics and another 737,500 Catholic family members. That doesn't include the 204,000 National Guard Catholics he also ministers to. Now, instead of 16 chaplains of all creeds, his area of responsibility is to oversee nearly 360 Roman Catholic priests who serve in his diocese.

But now that he's put his life in the hands of the Holy Spirit, he's able to look back at the past year with a mix of awe and surrender. Can he could think of one thing now he wished he'd known before the fate-filled day? "The importance of listening."

He shakes his head almost imperceptibly.

"I never imagined it could be as exciting as it was. The Holy Spirit creates different platforms. It's not about me, who I am. Evidently, the things the Holy Spirit needs to do with me are on a different platform. ... If you believe in the spirit, get out of the way."