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NZ-DAMIEN Oct-13-2009 (300 words) With photo. xxxi
New Zealanders sending icon of St. Damien to Hawaii
By Gavin Abraham
Catholic News Service
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CNS) -- New Zealand Catholics are sending an icon of one of the church's newest saints to the church in Hawaii.
Depicting St. Damien de Veuster, the icon will be given to Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu in November on behalf of Bishop Patrick J. Dunn of Auckland. St. Damien dedicated his life to those afflicted with leprosy, now known as Hansen's disease, in Molokai, Hawaii.
The icon was on display the evening of Oct. 11 as 150 people gathered to remember the life and legacy of a man being canonized half a world away the same day.
The event included a screening of "Molokai -- The Story of Father Damien," hosted by the NZ Catholic, New Zealand's national Catholic newspaper. Because of the time difference, the film finished shortly before the start of the canonization Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for St. Damien and Sts. Jeanne Jugan, Zygmunt Felinski, Francisco Coll Guitart and Rafael Arnaiz Baron.
Created locally by artist Jenny Trolove of the Studio of John the Baptist, the icon was blessed prior to the screening by Msgr. Bernard Kiely, administrator of Auckland's St. Patrick's Cathedral. It will be delivered by Dennis Augustine, the NZ Catholic's advertising and promotions manager, when he visits Hawaii.
Prior to the film Msgr. Kiely spoke of his own devotion to the new saint after first hearing Father Damien's story when he was in grade school. He urged New Zealanders to embrace St. Damien as "a saint of the Pacific."
Few people canonized by the church have ties to the South Pacific, he said, and cited St. Peter Chanel, who was martyred in the 19th century on the small island of Futuna in the French territory of Wallis and Futuna, as one of the select group.
END
Copyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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