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WYD-HAWAII Jul-14-2008 (670 words) With photos posted July 11 and 14. xxxn
Pilgrims make Hawaii stop part of preparation for World Youth Day
By Anna Weaver
Catholic News Service
HONOLULU (CNS) -- Hundreds of pilgrims from the U.S. mainland stopped in Hawaii on their way to World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia, and whether they stayed one day or several, they made the most of their island visit.
Twenty-five people from the Diocese of Springfield, Ill., led by Father Daren Zehnle, were the first. They were in Hawaii July 3-7 and stopped by the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu for Mass July 6.
Afterward, wearing shell leis given to visiting Massgoers, they took photos by the statue of Our Lady of Peace before heading to Waikiki to hike Diamond Head, a volcanic crater that is one of Hawaii's most famous natural landmarks.
The Neocatechumenal Way brought the largest group. With 275 people from Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix, New York and Newark, N.J., arriving at different times as early as July 8, they were greeted at Honolulu International Airport with leis and singing.
The first Neocatechumenal group from Newark spent the morning of July 9 at St. Ann Parish in Kaneohe. Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva gave a talk welcoming them and St. Ann's pastor, Sacred Hearts Father Herman Gomes, spoke about Blessed Damien de Veuster, a 19th-century Belgian missionary who cared for patients with Hansen's disease, or leprosy, on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.
The pilgrims had a chance to see artifacts from Blessed Damien's life such as his glasses and walking stick and to venerate a first-class relic of the soon-to-be-saint -- several strands of his hair. The presentation and veneration was repeated for the other Neocatechumenal groups as they came through.
Newark pilgrim Danisa Vasquez told the Hawaii Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Honolulu Diocese, the Blessed Damien presentation came into her life at the right time.
"He helped fill my call from God," said the 28-year-old, who is discerning her vocation. "I want God to answer my question of what does he want from me in my life."
Hawaii coordinator Stephen Chappell said the visiting pilgrims were evangelizing "in the streets" while in Hawaii, following the directive issued by Cardinal George Pell of Sydney when he spoke at World Youth Day 2005 in Germany. The cardinal had urged youths to take the Gospel to people, and some did sidewalk preaching among the beachgoers in Waikiki.
Fifty-four Neocatechumenal Way members from Hawaii also went to Sydney.
Making just a day's stop in the islands were 60 pilgrims from the U.S. mainland and Mexico under the direction of brothers and fathers from the Community of St. John in Laredo, Texas.
After attending Mass at the Honolulu cathedral, the group posed for pictures and prayed in front of the cathedral's statue, decorated that day for the feast of Our Lady of Peace in plumeria leis with purple and white orchid and ti leaf kahilis, a traditional Hawaiian symbol of royalty.
On July 11, the Diocese of Honolulu led an "Aloha Spirit Youth Day" in Waikiki for more than 175 pilgrims from the Dioceses of Fort Worth and Laredo, Texas, and Rockville Centre, N.Y. The day included a Mass celebrated by Bishop Silva, cultural activities and times set aside for prayer, including a sunset rosary on the beach.
Sister Anthony Birdsall, a member of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ from Fort Worth, said the warm welcome from Hawaiians was "like a second World Youth Day. The Catholic youth are on fire for God."
Slurping down a fruit-flavored "shave ice," Laredo Bishop James A. Tamayo talked about the blessings of the World Youth Day experience.
"This first stop here introduces us to a culture we were not at all that familiar with," he said. "As we head to Sydney, it's good for us to know that even though we come from different ethnic backgrounds, we're still so united and close to each other through our faith."
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
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