Warm welcome for Saint Damien School

Saint Damien School, formerly Damien Memorial School, officially changed its name during a celebratory Mass on Oct. 11. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters gathered in the school’s Bishop Scanlan Gymnasium to mark the transition for the 64-year-old institution.

Msgr. Gary Secor, vicar general of the Diocese of Honolulu, celebrated the liturgy on behalf of Bishop Michael T.T. Castori, SJ. A video message from Bishop Castori was played before the entrance hymn, in which he noted that the new name honors Father Damien de Veuster, who ministered to Hansen’s disease patients in Kalaupapa until his death. Two residents from the Kalaupapa settlement who live on Oahu also attended.

In his homily, Msgr. Secor referenced the Gospel of Matthew to describe how St. Damien served the people of Molokai.