THE REV. GARY COLTON FEELS STRONG FAMILY CONNECTION
As a student at Kaunoa School, the Rev. Gary Colton remembers learning about Father Damien and the possibility that he would be made a saint one day.
Six decades later and now pastor of Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina, Colton will be among the Hawaii residents attending Damien's canonization in Rome on Oct. 11. "I just had to be there," the 67-year-old priest said.
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The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
REV. GARY COLTON
Colton said he feels a strong family connection to Kalaupapa and Damien's work.
Colton's father, the late Lloyd Colton, served as the plantation dentist from Maui who would care for the staff at Kalaupapa during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Gary Colton was too young to accompany his father to Molokai on his once-a-month trek to address the Kalaupapa staff's needs, but he did visit the area regularly as a seminarian.
"The staff and even the patients would cheer me on and say, 'Don't worry, you'll make it, you're going to be a priest,'" Colton recalled. He said he and his family established great friendships over the years with many of the patients and staff.
"The family connection is very important to me. I just have a sense if my dad were here, he would want to go. I just want to fulfill that and make sure our family is there for this."
- Claudine San Nicolas
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DREAM COMES TRUE FOR THE REV. RAMON FRANCISCO
A priest on loan to the Diocese of Honolulu, the Rev. Ramon J. Francisco always dreamed about it but never really thought it would be possible to travel to places such as Maui and Rome.
Francisco's dreams have come true, first working at St. Ann's Church in Waihee for nearly a year and a half, and now, serving as the official chaplain for a small tour group traveling to the Vatican for the Damien canonization.
Francisco, 48, comes from the Diocese of Libmanan, located in Camarines Sur in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. His term at St. Ann's runs for at least three years, and his time in Hawaii has already included a tour of Kalaupapa, where Father Damien ministered to patients with Hansen's disease.
"His story touched my heart," Francisco said. After leaving Kalaupapa, Francisco began reciting nine days of novenas to Damien and asked divine intervention for the opportunity to travel to Rome for the canonization.
After his novena ended, Francisco was offered the chance to travel for free if he'd serve as the chaplain for the Providence Travel group. He said yes to the offer, but then ran into paperwork challenges in the process of applying for a travel visa.
Francisco turned to Damien again in prayers and following one Sunday Mass at St. Ann's, he received word from the Italian Embassy that his visa application had been approved.
"My prayers were answered, and my dream is coming true."
- Claudine San Nicolas
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STAN FRANCO EXPECTING LOTS OF EMOTION
St. Theresa Church Deacon Stan Franco calls Father Damien his personal hero.
"For me, if you look at what Christ said, 'The great love a person can (give) is laying his life down for another,'" the Kihei resident said last week as he prepared to fly to Rome. "Damien is an example of laying down his life for another."
Damien was a healthy 33-year-old who "gave it all up" and moved to Kalaupapa to care for leprosy patients "knowing at some point he would contract the disease and die."
Looking ahead to the canonization ceremony, Franco said, "For sure, there's going to be lots of emotion."
Like others making the trip, Stan and his wife, Stephanie, are both excited.
"I feel honored to be a part of the group who will be able to witness the canonization of a saint," Stephanie Franco said via e-mail. "After nearly 100 years, I will be part of a celebration of his life and the work he did for our Hawaiian people. My prayer . . . is that we continually remember that we must always serve the least of our brothers, especially those who are often the 'outcast' of our society."
Stan Franco said people should try to practice the principles Damien practiced.
"I think if we get anything out of this whole media event of Damien's canonization, we should try to get something from his life," he said.
- Melissa Tanji
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PAT TAKUSHI SAVED FOR FIRST TRIP ABROAD
At age 61, Pat Takushi of Kahului thought it might be time to get a passport.
Little did she know it would become essential now that she's become one of 500-plus residents in the official Damien entourage traveling with Hawaii Bishop Larry Silva.
When she first obtained her passport, Takushi had no plans to travel abroad. But once she learned of the canonization, she felt compelled to make the trek to Rome.
"I have to go. This is so special," said Takushi, a lifelong Catholic and parishioner at Christ the King Church in Kahului.
As office manager at her son's auto repair shop, Takushi and her husband of 41 years, Karl, have made sacrifices at home so that she can pay in excess of $5,000 to travel and be present for the canonization.
"I just haven't been buying as much, kind of watching the spending," she said about how she went about saving to pay for her trip and expenses. The one purchase she looks forward to making in Europe will be a Damien medal that she can keep as a souvenir.
Takushi said she's spent her entire life praying to saints including St. Jude, St. Anthony and St. Joseph.
"I always pray to them," she said. "And now I'll have St. Damien."
- Claudine San Nicolas
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VINNIE LINARES INSPIRED BY HUMANITY, PASSION
Maui Community College English professor Vinnie Linares is coming full circle in his experience with Father Damien.
Linares, who is also an actor, has played Damien in a one-man show for nine years, performing in Hawaii, on the Mainland and in Europe. Last week, he headed to Rome to witness Damien's canonization.
"It's a good way to end all this. I've been to his home and to his grave. This is a very special moment," Linares said by phone on a layover in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Linares said he is inspired by Damien's humanity and passion.
Even though the Catholic Church didn't always approve of Damien helping non-Catholics, Damien helped any person with leprosy, Linares said.
Linares, who's usually more comfortable in comic roles, agreed to play Damien as a personal challenge. Inspired by Damien, Linares donates the proceeds from his performances to charities.
He said he relates to Damien on a personal level, and feels he shares the priest's emotional, passionate and sometimes even hot-tempered personality.
- Melissa Tanji
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MONSIGNOR TERRY WATANABE FEELS CALLED
Monsignor Terry Watanabe of St. Theresa Church expects that he will see see pomp and circumstance during the canonization of Father Damien in Rome next weekend. Damien's connection to Molokai and Maui will make the event even more special, he said.
"This is like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing," he said.
The born and raised Maui boy, who entered seminary at age 13 said the event is "quite special" as Damien worked on Molokai and perhaps even worked on Maui before going to Molokai.
"It's quite wonderful we have someone who came out to help the people in Hawaii in their faith and spirituality. He went out and really cared for the people of Hawaii," the 58-year-old Watanabe said.
He sees Damien's work as a challenge that makes him think about his own role in the church and community.
"What am I doing? How am I reaching out to God's people in Hawaii?" Watanabe reflected.
The message he thinks people should take away from Damien's story is that "everyone is called to sainthood."
"Everyone is called to do their best in carrying out the gospel . . . and living their faith. Anybody and anyone can do this."
- Melissa Tanji
