Bishop Larry Silva kisses relic of St. Damien at the May 10, 2013, feast day Mass in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. (Photo by Darlene Dela Cruz)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The first-class relic of St. Damien displayed for veneration in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace May 10, the 150th anniversary of the saint’s arrival to Molokai is not a “heelbone,” as described in a story on the event in the May 26 Hawaii Catholic Herald.
It is the left ankle bone, according to the forensic anthropologist who did the forensic work on the remains of Hawaii’s saints.
Vincent Sava, who is retired and living now in Virginia, emailed the Herald with the correction.
“As a result of my forensic analysis (culminating in a written scientific report to Bishop Silva Dec. 10, 2009), my finding was that the relic was a portion of (St. Damien’s) left ankle bone,” he said. “This bone is called the “talus.” The heel bone is the “calcaneus,” a distinctly separate bone in the foot. Anatomically, the talus rests on top of the calcaneus and is part of the hinge joint that allows us to move our foot up and down.”
Apparently, the misidentification of the relic bone has been repeated a number of times and goes back at least 14 years, Sava said.
“Some may see heelbone vs. ankle bone issue as trivial, however, I think we owe it to our saints to report on them as accurately and precisely as possible,” he said.