LIHU‘E — A heel bone of St. Damien de Veuster, the “leper priest of Moloka‘i,” will make stops at five Catholic churches next week as part of a statewide tour. The relic will then be permanently placed at the Cathedral
LIHU‘E — A heel bone of St. Damien de Veuster, the “leper priest of Moloka‘i,” will make stops at five Catholic churches next week as part of a statewide tour.
The relic will then be permanently placed at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu. It was presented by Pope Benedict XVI to Bishop Larry Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu in Rome earlier this month, when Blessed Father Damien became St. Damien.
The relic arrives on Kaua‘i Wednesday afternoon, and that day there will be prayer service at Immaculate Conception Church in Kapaia at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, the relic and entourage make stops at St. Catherine Church in Kapa‘a at 8 a.m. for a school and parish Mass, then at 11 a.m. at St. Theresa’s Church in Kekaha for another school and parish Mass.
A prayer service is at 3 p.m. the same day at Holy Cross Church in Kalaheo, and the relic and entourage end up at St. Raphael’s Church in Koloa for a Mass at 6:30 p.m.
The Rev. Herman Gomes SSCC, pastor of St. Ann Church in Kane‘ohe, will preach at all Masses and services, and all are invited to the gatherings, said the Rev. William Shannon, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church. He is vicar, or head of the Catholic church, on Kaua‘i, as selected by Silva.
There will be an opportunity for the faithful to prayerfully venerate the relic at the end of each service, he said. Refreshments will follow each prayer service and Mass.
“I would encourage everyone to consider attending one of these very historic and sacred services,” Shannon said.
“It’s a first-class relic,” he said, meaning an actual body part of St. Damien.
“We look at relics as connections with holy people of the past,” Shannon said. Relics and statues are like “photographs of ancestors and their love and concern for us while they were alive.”
While the statues and relics are not meant to be worshipped, they serve as “remembrances of the goodness of the saint or other holy people,” he said.
Father Damien de Veuster is Hawai‘i’s first saint.
Born in Belgium, Saint Damien ministered to those with leprosy quarantined on Moloka‘i.
President Barack Obama last week announced that U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Neighbor Islands-Rural O‘ahu, was part of a presidential delegation sent to Belgium for a thanksgiving Mass for St. Damien.
Earlier this month, Obama issued a statement expressing his “deep admiration for the life of Blessed Damien de Veuster.”
“Father Damien has also earned a special place in the hearts of Hawaiians,” he said. “I recall many stories from my youth about his tireless work there to care for those suffering from leprosy who had been cast out.
“Following in the steps of Jesus’ ministry to the lepers, Father Damien challenged the stigmatizing effects of disease, giving voice to the voiceless and ultimately sacrificing his own life to bring dignity to so many,” Obama said.
“In our own time as millions around the world suffer from disease, especially the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, we should draw on the example of Father Damien’s resolve in answering the urgent call to heal and care for the sick.”
Hirono introduced a resolution honoring St. Damien, which was approved by the full House.
