Featured sound clip (click here for on/off): Vocal arrangement of "Makalapua" ©1999 Mondoy Music
This is Fr.
Damien's beloved St. Philomena Church in Kalawao. The picture is taken from the very spot
where Damien first slept under a hala tree, and where a rectory was built when he
was assured that all the patients had decent shelter from the elements. In Damien's day,
the area was barren of bush and tree. Very different and serene today.
A view of
North shore Molokai behind St. Philomena. The largest massif in the distance is Wailau
valley [see Wailau 98 picture site]. When our Damien choir celebrated the
reinurnment of Damien's relic in 1996, the choir took shelter at this spot, in the
shade, during the outdoor Mass.
From inside
St. Philomena's, a view of Damien's gravesite. Mary had just put that strawflower lei on
it. The other graves are of other priests and brothers who gave their lives for the
Hansen's disease patients. The two valleys distant are (l.) Waikolu and
(r.)Wai‘ale‘ia.
The church's
other side....
Baldwin Park's
view of the N. shore cliffs. From topside, I've hiked to the top on the near ridge once; a
treacherous 3.5 hour hike. This area abounds in unmarked archaeological sites.
A view of the
bay at Kalaupapa. The lava columnar dikes here are unique - not just a regular pile o'
rocks. Porpoise are spotted almost daily playing and feeding in these waters.
The same bay,
West Molokai in the distance. Wonderful snorkeling and swimming here.
Sunset. Aloha nö, Kalaupapa. Aloha ‘äina, aloha ke Akua.
PAU