Relic tour ‘rarest of opportunities’

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DAMIEN RELIC VISITATION ON MAUI

Saturday, Oct. 24

* 9:30-11 a.m.

St. Theresa Church, Kihei

* 12-4 p.m.

Christ The King Church, Kahului

* 5-9 p.m.

St. Anthony Church, Wailuku

* Overnight Vigil

St. Mary Church, Hana

Sunday, Oct. 25

* 7-11 a.m.

Holy Rosary Church, Paia

* 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

St. Joseph Church, Makawao

* 3:30-5 p.m. dinner; 6:30 p.m. Mass

Maui Vicariate Celebration, War Memorial Gymnasium

(Dinner tickets cost $8 per person and must be purchased by Tuesday at Catholic church offices including Holy Rosary Church in Paia; Christ the King Church in Kahului; St. Theresa Church in Kihei; and Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina.)

Monday, Oct. 26

* 7-11 a.m.

Holy Ghost Church, Kula

* Noon-4 p.m.

St. Ann Church, Waihee

* 5-9 p.m.

Maria Lanakila Church, Lahaina

Tuesday, Oct. 27

* 6:45 a.m.

Depart by ferry from Lahaina Harbor to Lanai

The relic visitations and Maui Vicariate celebration are free and open to the public.

East Maui will host the relic of Saint Damien in an overnight vigil after it has traveled more than 50 miles of winding roads, making stops at churches and shrines along the way.

Ben Perry, who lives in Hana and Kahului, has accepted the responsibility of accompanying the relic from 9 p.m. Saturday at St. Anthony Church in Wailuku until 7 a.m. Oct. 25, when it will be handed over to Holy Rosary Church in Paia.

"It presents the rarest of opportunities," Perry said about the "job" of transporting the relic through East Maui.

By taking the north route into Hana and the south route through Kaupo, Perry said, the relic will have encircled the greater part of the island, and residents of the island's most remote communities would have a chance to pay their respects to Hawaii's first saint.

"Just think about it: A saint will be passing through Hana. It's awesome," Perry said. "I choke up when I think about it."

A relic is a piece of a saint's body. In this case, St. Damien's right heel was presented to Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva following the Oct. 11 canonization in Rome. The relic has been making stops between Rome and Hawaii.

Early Christians started the tradition of relics as they gathered to worship in the catacombs near the graves of Christian martyrs. The tradition developed into the practice of burying a saint's bones in or under a church's altar.

The Damien relic (his right heel) will tour the islands before being placed at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, where Father Damien was ordained.

Perry will accompany the relic throughout the 10-hour overnight vigil. Accompanying him will be his wife, Pearl, and two members of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic family fraternal service organization whose local members have agreed to keep watch over the relic during its entire stay on Maui.

The East Maui tour is to start with a brief visit, sometime between 9:30 and 10 p.m., at St. Gabriel's Church in Keanae. The tour will continue along Hana Highway with the goal of arriving by 11:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary's in Hana.

Once in Hana, the Rev. Jose Macoy, St. Mary's pastor, will welcome the relic along with parishioners prepared to sing and pray in the Hawaiian language. A midnight Mass is scheduled, followed by a veneration and then the showing of a film depicting the life of St. Damien.

At the end of film, kupuna with relatives who once were Kalaupapa patients and/or had a connection to Damien's ministry on Molokai will share their recollections from family members who shared stories about the priest and his work with Hansen's disease patients.

By 3:10 a.m. Oct. 25, the relic will make its way out to St. Mary's mission churches in the following order: St. Peter Church in Puuiki, St. Paul Church in Kipahulu and St. Joseph Church in Kaupo. If there's time, Perry plans to make brief visits at St. James the Less Church in Ulupalakua and then Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Keokea.

The East Maui relic tour should wind down by 6:55 a.m. Oct. 25 at Holy Rosary Church in Paia.

Macoy said he agreed to host the overnight vigil at his church in support of parishioners who preferred to host the relic, instead of visiting it outside of East Maui.

"Our community really wanted this," he said. "I believe it's an expression of their faith."

St. Mary has about 89 families or approximately 200 parishioners on its roster.

The overnight vigil is open to the public at St. Mary and its mission churches.

"This is the first time for me to experience this and the first time for the people. We're very excited," Macoy said.

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