Damien Memorial School to become Saint Damien School

Damien Memorial School will officially change its name to Saint Damien School on Oct. 11. The school will mark the transition with a celebratory Mass at 11 a.m. in the Bishop Scanlan Gymnasium.

The name change coincides with the anniversary of the day Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien de Veuster as St. Damien of Molokai in 2009. Lanson Kupau, chair of the school's board of directors and a 1982 graduate, said the decision aims to celebrate the saint's life rather than simply memorializing him. Kupau noted that the change embraces the school's history and recognizes the meaning of Damien's life today.

Father Damien, born Jozef de Veuster in Belgium, arrived in Hawaii as a missionary in 1864. He later moved to the Molokai peninsula in 1873 to minister to people living with Hansen's disease. He died in 1889 after being diagnosed with the disease himself.