At top, students from St. Patrick School in Kaimuki performed May 10 in front of the Damien statue at the state Capitol in downtown Honolulu during a ceremony honoring St. Damien on his feast day. Other schools that participated included Our Lady of Good Counsel School, Sacred Hearts Academy and Damien Memorial School; the service […]
Sherry Hayes-Peirce: Celebrate saints, holy people in May
Catholic Social Tips May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. Did you know that there is a document that celebrates the Catholic diversity of the identity, generations, cultures and leadership of the Asian and Pacific Islander community? “Encountering Christ in Harmony: A Pastoral Response to Our Asian and Pacific Island Brothers […]
St. Damien mural helps stop vandalism
By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald Walk along the Fort Street Mall near the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace and you’ll see a colorful new mural on the boarded-up front of the Kamiano Center next to the church. The all-purpose building’s conditions have deteriorated in recent years, and while the Diocese of Honolulu […]
Damien relatives decry N.Y. rep’s depiction of Molokai saint
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Hawaii’s choice for Washington’s Statuary Hall a white supremacist colonizer By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Upset by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ suggestion that St. Damien was a white supremacist colonizer, two of the saint’s Belgian relatives, representing his extended family, wrote her an open letter Aug. 20 denouncing her words. […]
Waialua vestment designer making Damien-Marianne protective masks
By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Wendy Wylder had been sewing chasubles, the priest’s primary outer Mass vestment, in her small sewing studio in Waialua to present to Hawaii clergy at their annual convocation in May when the coronavirus pandemic struck. The event was canceled, so she adjusted. Wylder is now making protective face masks […]
New portraits of Hawaii’s saints stand out above the cathedral’s altar
By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald Two new faces can be seen in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. Specially commissioned portraits of St. Marianne Cope and St. Damien de Veuster went up in December on each side of the crucifixion scene on the high altar. The new paintings depict the two Hawaii […]
Molokai saints relics to visit New York City
The relics of St. Damien and St. Marianne will be traveling from Hawaii to the Big Apple this month, making three stops, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The first class relics, bone fragments from the two Molokai saints, will be on display for veneration in the sanctuary of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, 5-9 p.m. Sep. […]
May is the month of St. Damien
COMMENTARY By Sherry Hayes-Peirce In May we celebrate our Blessed Mother and our earthly mother. But it is also a time to celebrate our beloved St. Damien de Veuster, whose feast day is May 10. This year marks the 155th anniversary of the arrival of this great saint to Hawaii. Since the canonization in Rome […]
Diocese sets protocol for ‘traveling’ relics of Hawaii saints
By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald The Diocese of Honolulu is making available to other dioceses, parishes and religious institutes first class relics of St. Damien and St. Marianne for veneration. The Office of Worship, which is coordinating the use of the “traveling” relics, has published on the diocesan website the protocols for the transporting […]
Big Isle artist who made block prints of St. Damien and St. Marianne dies
By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Big Island artist Dietrich Varez, whose block print images of Molokai’s St. Damien de Veuster and St. Marianne Cope were incorporated into popular aloha wear, died Aug. 14, at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home on Hawaii Island. He was 79. Though not a Catholic, Varez considered Hawaii’s two […]
