Not a Walk-in-the-Park Kind of Month at Kalaupapa!
If any of you would have thought that spending a month at Kalaupapa would be boring with little to do, you would be dead wrong!
I subbed for Pat Killilea as he took a vacation to be with his family and friends in Ireland and I was surprised at how busy I was. Indeed!
From the very first day, after settling into the old rectory in Kalaupapa, I found out quickly that the month was not going to be a walk in the park, to say the least. I was met at the “huge” Kalaupapa airport by the two Franciscan sisters still left at Kalaupapa, Alicia and Barbara Jean, who laid leis around my neck. We looked at each other and I knew the routine. Daily masses at St. Francis at 5:50am, Monday thru Friday and Saturday at 7am; Sunday Masses at 9am either at St. Francis in Kalaupapa or at St. Philomena in Kalawao or St. Elizabeth chapel at the sisters’ convent; heard only one confession during the month; and bring communion to the two remaining leprosy patients (Winnie, age 96 and John, age 102) at the Care Home in Kalaupapa every Sunday and have lunch with them. Winnie is blind and is in a wheelchair and John still drives and lives in his own house. There are only two other leprosy patients, besides Winnie and John. They live in Honolulu on Oahu. They are in their 80’s or 90’s. That makes only four leprosy patients left out of the thousands who spent their lives at Kalawao or Kalaupapa.
After seeing Pat Killilea off at the airport, I rested and prepared for the month to come. Pat’s house cat, Bailey, was on his last legs and I kept him inside so he would be comfortable. But, I knew there would probably be a dead cat in the house within a couple of weeks. Pat had already lost another cat the year before, while he was gone. Déjà vu!
So, the first week, I learned the ropes. Say mass (usually just the 2 sisters, maybe a visitor or two or an employee or two), feed the cats (all four of them and Bailey, who didn’t eat anything), breakfast, some cleaning of the rectory, go to the settlement store across the street for any food needed, go to the post office, put the trash out, and usually I would try to fit in a run to the airport and back (once = 5K, twice = 10K), lunch, siesta, work on a book I am compiling, read, supper, prayer, go to bed. One day, the sisters and a visitor from Minnesota went up to the Kauhako crater for a nice view of the cliffs (pali), the sea and Kalaupapa..png)
At Kauhako Crater (l to rt: Visitor Rose, Fr. Brian, Sr. Alicia, and Sr. Barbara Jean)
A little about the two sisters and Fr. Pat: Sr. Alicia Damien Lau, OSF and Sr. Barbara Jean Wajda, OSF have been at Kalaupapa for almost ten years. Both have experience in the health care field and are in Kalaupapa to serve for the leprosy patients- which is also the purpose for the Hawaii Board of Health. Sr. Alicia works in the Board of Health office as well as in the settlement bookstore. Sr. Barbara Jean works at the settlement store. Fr. Pat Killilea, SS.CC. has been at Kalaupapa for 14 years. The three have welcomed many visitors on tours and pilgrimages to the holy ground of Molokai.
During the second week, we had a day visit by Fr. Lusius Nimu, ss.cc. and Fr. Owen Limarta (a Diocese of Denver priest from Indonesia). Usually, when there are visitors to the settlement, the sisters and the priest would meet them at the airport in the parish van and take them to Kalawao for a tour and lunch, then return to Kalaupapa for a tour of the Bishop Home (sisters’ convent), St. Francis church and the rest of the settlement. .png)
Mass at St. Philomena (l to rt: Fr. Brian, Fr. Owen, Fr. Lusius)
The third week saw two day visits and the death of Bailey the beloved cat. The first day visit was by a group of four diocesan priests who were celebrating their 10-year ordination class (from St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, CA) reunion in Hawaii. The others on theire day visit were: one priest from the Honolulu Diocese, one priest from the Fresno, CA Diocese, one priest from the Sacramento, CA Diocese and one priest from the Orange, CA Diocese. They were joined by two young hikers from Topside. They all enjoyed their visit to Kalawao and Kalaupapa.
Two days later, another day visit, by the Bishop of Evansville, IN*, a priest from the Diocese of Joliet, IL and a couple from Mililani, Oahu (he is a cardiologist who teaches at the University of Chicago Medical School; she is from Indonesia). They were very impressed by the tour, especially to the cemeteries where some of the patients are buried.
Towards the end of the week, Bailey the cat’s final hours came. He died quietly in the rectory hallway by the bathroom. I carried him outside and, with the help of the sisters, dug a grave, did a short prayer service and buried him next to the front steps. I sent Fr. Pat condolences and some pics of Bailey’s final days and his grave.
The last week of my time at Kalaupapa was filled with a birthday celebration (my 73rd birthday) along with a young man Damiano and Teresa his mother visiting from Italy, a farewell lobster dinner and a day visit by Lane, our Provincial, the Papal Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Caccia, the new Bishop of Honolulu, Michael Castori, SJ and a Tongan priest from Australia.
The sisters invited me over to where Damiano (who works for Apple in Cupertino) and Teresa (from Viterbo, Italy) were staying while spending a few days at the settlement. We had spaghetti, of course, made by Teresa. The previous day, I joined the sisters and Damiano and Teresa at Auntie Meli’s beach house for a little R+R. It was a joy to celebrate my 73rd birthday with them.
At the end of the week, the sisters invited me over to the convent for a farewell lobster dinner, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Then, the day before I was supposed to leave Kalaupapa, came the big day, a Sunday, with a visit by Fr. Lane, our Provincial, the Papal Nuncio to the U.S., the new Bishop of Honolulu and a Tongan diocesan priest. Their early morning flight was canceled, so they came in around noon. It was a little rainy that day, but we took them to see Kalawao and St. Philomena’s and then back to Kalaupapa. They were very impressed!
Just a word about the current situation at Kalaupapa:
Auntie Meli Watanuki has passed away and now there is no one to do the Damien tour at Kalaupapa. Meli’s family has said no to continuing it. The only way for pilgrims to tour Kalaupapa is to get Fr. Pat or the Sisters to sponsor their visit. And, only small groups can come at the moment. Also, with Meli no longer cleaning the two churches, someone will have to step up to do it. The National Park Service has tried to do a day hike (accompanied by NPS guides) down the pali trail followed by a few hour tour of Kalaupapa (not Kalawao) and then a hike back up. It was supposed to be on Thursdays and Saturdays. However, after the first time, protesters against the NPS bypassing the native families, blocked the tour and it has since been suspended. As of right now, with only two patients in the settlement, the Hawaii Homelands, Board of Health and the NPS are trying to figure out what will happen after the last patients pass away. Priority is given to the rights of the patients, then to the Hawaii Homelands and Board of Health, then to the NPS. If there are no more patients in the settlement, the Board of Health would leave, the Sisters would leave and possibly the priest. It gets a little complicated.
Finally, my flight from Kalaupapa to Honolulu was canceled the next day, so I had to schedule a PM flight for the following day, spend the night in Honolulu and then rebook a flight for the next day back to California.
So, you can see, it was not a walk-in-the-park kind of month!
Mahalo nui, Kalaupapa, the Franciscan Sisters, Fr. Pat, Bailey the cat and all our visitors!
Aloha nui loa!
by Brian Guerrini, ss.cc.
West Region of U.S. Province
*nota bene: Fr. Brian is from Indiana and his mom is from Evansville- so having a bishop visit from Evansville was quite a blessing and not a coincidence! - the other BG
