By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald A delegation of nine Belgians was in Hawaii this month to commemorate the 150th anniversary of their revered countryman, St. Damien de Veuster, stepping foot on Molokai, and to sign a “commitment statement” with Bishop Larry Silva, Hawaii’s Gov. Josh Green, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Kalaupapa residents, representatives of […]
It’s the ‘talus,’ not the ‘calcaneus’
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 […]
The 150th anniversary of Father Damien’s arrival in Kalaupapa
By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald The diocese commemorated the 150th anniversary of St. Damien’s historic arrival to Kalaupapa on May 10, 1873, with three days of activities remembering the Belgian missionary’s supreme sacrifice. May 10 is also Father Damien’s liturgical feast day. On that day, a century and a half ago, at age 33, […]
Maui celebrates its connection to saint’s anniversary observance
By Father Ese’ese “Ace” Tui Special to the Herald More than 200 people gathered for evening prayer and the veneration of the first-class relic of St. Damien de Veuster at St. Anthony Parish in Wailuku, Maui, on May 9 at 7 p.m. in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the saint’s arrival on Molokai on […]
May 10 marks 150th anniversary of St. Damien’s Molokai arrival
By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald On May 10 the Diocese of Honolulu will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the day St. Damien de Veuster first set foot on Molokai and began a ministry of supreme charity and selflessness that would lead to his death there 16 years later and his canonization. May 10 is […]
Photo: Damien Day
Sisters, brothers and fathers of the Congregation of of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary gather at the state capitol around the statue of St. Damien de Veuster on his feast day, May 10, for the draping of a lei and prayers. The Belgian-born saint was a member of their religious congregation. The pandemic […]
Saints for the pandemic
Here is a reflection by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, a Dominican Sister of the Most Holy Rosary, on her painting of icons of St. Damien and St. Marianne with local artist Meleanna Meyer for a devotional nave in Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Honolulu during the pandemic. By Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP Special […]
A gathering place for all
Waikiki education center dedicated to the saints and residents of Kalaupapa nears completion By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald The Damien and Marianne of Molokai Education Center continues to take shape in the heart of Waikiki. Sitting on the corner of Ohua and Kalakaua Avenues, across from the Prince Kuhio statue, the two-story, 5,900-square-foot building […]
St. Damien, imitating Jesus, ‘crossed barriers,’ Bishop Silva said
10TH ANNIVERSARY OF CANONIZATION By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Bishop Larry Silva began his homily for the evening Mass Oct. 11 marking the 10th anniversary of St. Damien’s canonization by describing an outhouse. The structure near the Siloama Protestant Church at the Kalaupapa settlement for leprosy patients had facilities for two — not “men” […]
St. Damien of Monongahela
Ten years after his canonization, the Molokai saint has several Mainland parishes named in his honor By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald The story of St. Damien de Veuster has been spreading since his 2009 canonization. That includes the naming of several parishes on the Mainland after the Belgian-born, Hawaii priest who served Hansen’s disease […]