Aloha Saint Damien: What will you do to celebrate?

This is an ongoing blog about Father Damien by Molokai Dispatch reporter Megan Stephenson.

It is around 6:30pm Hawaiian standard time, which means its 6:30am in Rome – less than four hours until the beginning canonization ceremonies. At 10 o’clock, the Vatican will be streaming live the ceremony; here on Molokai St. Sophia’s church will have two large screens for anyone who wishes to watch.

While this is a special day on Molokai, and around Hawaii – Governor Lingle has already proclaimed October 11 to be Saint Damien Day – there are four other special souls who will be sainted with Father Damien.
Sister Jeanne Jugan (1792-1879) of France, a nun with the Little Sisters of the Poor; Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), a Spanish Cistercian; Francesc Coll y Guitart (1812-1875), also from Spain, he was a Dominican priest; and Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski (1822-1895), a Polish bishop.

The many Hawaiian groups that made the long journey to Europe have been posting their news via blogs and Twitter. The Boy Scouts of Oahu enjoyed Rome yesterday, visiting the Colesseum and attending Mass at St. Peter’s. Those in the Hawaiian Catholic Herald group, the official delegation from the Diocese of Honolulu (with Bishop Silva) posted the ‘Hawaiian pilgrims’ are headed to St. Peter’s Square around 7am (their time) for the canonization Mass. There blog can be found here: http://hawaiicatholicherald.wordpress.com/

In just a few hours, at 10pm Hawaiian time, Father Damien will become Saint Damien. Of course, it will be 10am local time, so it’s as if Hawaii gets a peek into the future!
Go out and celebrate!