Posted on 11/02/2009 12:44:41 PM PST by Steelfish
Hawaii Celebrates Saint Who Cared For Lepers Huge crowd takes part in service for canonization of Saint Damien
[Pic in URL] A relic of Father Damien — now Saint Damien — is carried in a procession to the Iolani Palace in Honolulu on Sunday as part of the interfaith celebration of his canonization.
HONOLULU - Hawaii feted the canonization of Saint Damien with a Mass and an interfaith celebration that underscored the 19th century priest's enduring popularity in the islands.
More than 1,200 people attended Sunday's Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, where Damien was ordained in 1864.
The church seats about 500, so an overflow crowd watched on television monitors outside. Hundreds more joined the festivities at Iolani Palace, where politicians and leaders from the Episcopal, Mormon and United Church of Christ denominations spoke at the interfaith celebration.
The Hawaii commemorations came several weeks after the Vatican made Damien, born in Belgium as Joseph de Veuster in 1840, a saint in a ceremony presided over by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Sure beats more news on saint Barack don’t it?
Now there is a real hero!!! The “colony” still exists on the Island of Molokai. That island is not for tourists by the way. We vacationed there at a bed-and-breakfast and one morning found a skorpion in our kitchen sink. At any rate, Father Damien is one of the most heroic figures of all time.
ML/NJ
St. Damian of Molokai, pray for us!
What a man. Braver and stronger than I.
God bless Saint Damien - pray for us!
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