Isle residents are touring Rome ‘in awe’

With less than 24 hours before Blessed Damien is to be canonized, about a dozen Maui residents are attending daily Masses and touring the sights of Rome.

"I'm so gratified I'm able to experience this," said Corazon Constantino, a 66-year-old lifelong Catholic from Pukalani.

Constantino, her daughter, Darlene Cachola, and granddaughters, Marisa, 16, and Chelsy, 19, are traveling together in a contingent of about 52 people from Hawaii. About 12 Maui residents are in the same group traveling separately from the 500-plus entourage of Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva. Another 30 or so Maui residents are with Silva's group, including 11 Kalaupapa patients. They have not yet met up with Constantino's group.

All together, nearly 600 Hawaii residents are in Rome to attend Sunday's canonization of Father Damien de Veuster, who is known to much of the world as Damien the Leper.

Damien ministered to people afflicted with Hansen's disease for 16 years on Molokai, where he died at the age of 49 from the same disease in 1889.

Constantino said many of Maui's residents invested more than $4,000 each to be in Rome in part because of Damien's connection to the state. "Getting a saint for Hawaii, that's big for me," she said.

Cachola, a 1981 Baldwin High School graduate, now lives on Oahu and works for the Catholic church there. Cachola said she accompanied her mother on the trip after her dad, Deacon Pat Constantino, decided to stay home because of his involvement with the Damien celebration scheduled for Oct. 24-26 on Maui.

"Just being here right now, it doesn't seem real," Cachola said. "I'm just in awe of everything."

Cachola said they've been touring the sights of Rome including the outskirts of the Vatican and basilicas, which are Catholic churches granted certain ceremonial rights. On Friday night, they took a peek at St. Peter's Square where Blessed Damien will be canonized as Hawaii's first saint.

"We saw all the lights in the square, it was awesome," Constantino said. She said the best part of the trip to Rome, which is her second, is watching her daughter and granddaughters take in the country.

"Seeing awe in their faces, I'm glad I'm able to come with them," Constantino said. "I can't wait until Sunday."

* Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.