In the Hawaii Catholic Herald the story of the construction of the Damien and Marianne museum appeared. The museum is scheduled to open in early 2020. Below is an excerpt from the article which can be found at
https://www.hawaiicatholicherald.com/2019/08/22/bringing-kalaupapa-to-the-world/
A need to better tell the story of Father Damien and Mother Marianne has long existed. Plans on how to do so accelerated after Damien’s canonization in 2009 and Marianne’s in 2012. A Damien and Marianne Heritage Center above the ABC Store in the building that fronts St. Augustine lasted from 2010 to 2013, closing due to a rent hike. Prior to that, a Damien Museum at St. Patrick Monastery in Kaimuki and then at St. Augustine showcased some photographs and artifacts relating to Father Damien.
Father Akiona knew there was plenty of demand for a new museum since the previous heritage center saw about 40,000 visitors a year with minimal advertising and a lot of foot traffic off Kalakaua Avenue.
“I think for me the excitement is the fact that it’s now reality, it’s happening,” he said of the new building. Being from Molokai and a member of the same religious order as St. Damien adds a personal dimension to his investment in the project.
But he emphasized that the Damien and Marianne of Molokai Education Center has long been a vision of members of St. Augustine Parish. Repeat visitors to
the parish over the years have been tracking the project too. “It’s really fulfilling a goal that we had set as a parish community,” Father Akiona said.
He has also talked with surviving Kalaupapa Hansen’s disease patients who support the project and want more people knowing about Hawaii’s saints. “One of the things that they were appreciative of was that Damien and Marianne really showed that they cared for them,” he said. “The ones still alive today were young children when their elders would tell them stories about Damien and Marianne.”
And now those patients want more people to know their story and the story of Hawaii’s saints.
11/13/2019