Hawaii Catholic Herald
Saint Damien School — formerly Damien Memorial School — began a new era in its 64-year history Oct. 11 with a celebratory Mass that marked its official transition to its new name.
Students, alumni, faculty, staff and supporters attended the liturgy in the school’s Bishop Scanlan Gymnasium. Also present were two patient-residents from Kalaupapa, the remote Hansen’s disease settlement on Molokai, who currently live on Oahu.
Msgr. Gary Secor, vicar general of the Diocese of Honolulu, celebrated the Mass on behalf of Bishop Michael T.T. Castori, SJ, who was traveling but nevertheless recorded a video message that was played before the entrance hymn.
Bishop Castori extolled the selflessness and service embodied by Sacred Hearts Father Damien de Veuster, who bravely sailed to Hawaii from Belgium before he was even ordained and then, years after becoming a priest and working on Hawaii island, volunteered to minister to the Hansen’s disease patients in Kalaupapa — staying until his own death from the disease, then called leprosy.
“St. Damien gave his whole life … becoming a patient himself,” Bishop Castori said in the video. “The naming of (Saint Damien School) reminds us of this and inspires us to follow his example.”
In his homily, Msgr. Secor also praised St. Damien’s willingness to serve despite the risks to his health and the occasional bureaucratic headache. Citing the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew, in which a wedding feast guest was punished for not dressing for the occasion, Msgr. Secor said that St. Damien showed up in Molokai dressed in love and ready to give of himself to help the patient-residents.
At the conclusion of Mass, school President Wally Marciel and board of directors chairman Lanson Kupau — 1979 and 1982 graduates, respectively — offered brief remarks. Kupau thanked the Christian Brothers religious order, which operates Saint Damien School, for allowing the name change, and became emotional when describing St. Damien’s work and the importance of carrying his legacy forward.
