Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 3, 1 March 2009 — Sainthood for Father Damien will draw Kalaupapa residents to Rome [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Sainthood for Father Damien will draw Kalaupapa residents to Rome

By Liza Simūn Public Affairs Specialist Asmall group of Kalaupapa residents will be at the Vatican when Father Damien de Veuster is elevated to sainthood on Oct. 11. "It's going to be history made there, but for me personally it means something special, because I'm always praying to Father Damien," said "Boogie" Kahilihiwa, a resident of the Kalaupapa settlement since 1959 and one of the last people to be sent there under a forced isolation policy for Hansen's disease patients. A Belgian missionary priest, Father Damien eame to Moloka'i in 1873 and devoted his life to ministering to patients of Hansen's disease - whieh was then known as leprosy - before the same disease claimed his life in 1889. The Feb. 21 announcement from the Roman Catholic Church that Damien would be canonized was received with elahon on Moloka'i. "Truthfully, we expected it. Deep

down in our heart, we had no doubt - he was a saint," said Kahilihiwa, adding that many of buildings Damien erected during his ministry in Kalaupapa are still in use - something he calls a testament to the priest's commitment and energy. "He walked the land here. He was one of us," noted Kahilihiwa. Dr. Kalani Brady, who delivers healthcare services to the approximately 20 remaining and mostly elderly residents of the Kalaupapa settlement, said Father Damien's legacy still touches humanity more than a century after his death. "Father Damien remains a very powerful figure on Moloka'i, because of the way he lifted despair," said Brady, who will be accompanying the Kalaupapa group on their trip to Rome. "When he arrived on Moloka'i, he found Hansen's disease patients who felt forsaken by God, because they had been imprisoned for no reason other than the disease that had wracked their See ŪAMEN on page II

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Father Damien gave his life fo help Hansen's disease pafienfs who were forced into isolation at Kalawao and later Kalaupapa, on Maoloka'i. - Photo: Guavagraphics

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bodies. He proteeted them and gave them hope. I eonsider that the first miraele oeeurred when he developed the disease and truly beeame one of them. To this day, he is worshipped in the Eueharist in Moloka'i Sunday morning masses." Father Damien's adoption of Hawaiian ways has been well doemnented over the years. He spoke the Hawaiian lan-

guage īn the Kalaupapa settlement, whieh was largely eomprised of Kānaka Maoli, who were vulnerable to diseases of

Westerners to whieh they had no natural hmnunity. The State of Hawai'i lifted its poliey of isolating on Hansen's disease patients in 1969. By then, drugs to effeetively treat the disease were in use. Kahilihiwa estimates that ten

of his fellow Kalaupapa residents have made travel arrangements to visit Rome for the Oet. 1 1 canoniza-

tion. He said the group has hopes of telling Damien's story to the pontiff, though they have gotten word that

Vatican protocol may not pennit this. Also on the Kalaupapa European itinerary is a visit to Father Damien's hometown of Tremeloo, Belgimn. In recent years, several of Damien's descendants have made a pilgrunage to Kalaupapa, where they were given an alo-ha-filled weleome by residents. Kahilihiwa jokes that he and his fellow travelers look forward to sampling some

of Belguim's famous chocolate candies, though sharing Damien's legacy with his heirs will be one highlight that's hard to beat. Kahilihiwa and many of his Kalaupapa neighbors and eommunity supporters belong to a Hansen's disease advocacy group, whieh has also been active in the effort to have sainthood conferred on Damien - a process was started more than five decades ago. When canonization day arrives, a good plaee to be is in Kalaupapa, said Valerie Monson, a Maui resident who said she has so admired the spirit of the settlement residents that she became a member of the advocacy group known as Ka 'Ohana o Kalaupapa. "These people are true heroes. They gave up everything to be here. Many felt the best way to help their families was to follow the isolation orders," said Monson, adding that Father Damien, noted for his hmnility, would agree that a tribute should go to the people of Kalaupapa settlement. S

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n Father ūamien in his youth. - Photo: Courtesy ofnps.gov

Left: 'Boogie' Kahilihiwa, ū former Hansen's disease patient who still lives in Kūlaupapa, is planning to travel to Rome for the Oct. 1 1 canonization of Father ūamien, who tended to the outcast patients on the Moloka'i settlement for 1 6 years before he succumbed to the disease in 1 889. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom