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ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX HONORED

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Rosemarie Lopes-Bane, above, venerates the remains of St. Therese
of Lisieux at Star of the Sea Church last night.

Star of the Sea
Church pays homage
to saint

Relic of beloved saint draws
crowd to Waialae church

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

To a background of murmured conversation and inspirational music, a slow-moving line of people edged forward up the church's center aisle, waiting their turn to pay their respects.

The object of everyone's attention was the gilded wooden casket before the altar containing the remains of someone they all knew.

That's where the resemblance to a funeral ended.

The upbeat gathering at Star of the Sea Church in Waialae-Kahala last night was the beginning of the three-day veneration of a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux, one of the most popular saints of the Catholic church. The reliquary containing some bones of the nun who died in 1897 usually is on display in the basilica in her hometown in France.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Hula dancers from the church pay homage to and welcome the
remains of St. Therese shortly after the remains arrived.

Honolulu is the last of 130 stops in the United States on a six-year international tour begun in part because Therese has been designated within the church as the patroness of missions.

The brief welcoming ceremony mixed Hawaii's tradition -- chanter John Lake with a welcoming invocation and a hula that reflected the saint's nickname of the Little Flower -- and the pomp of the Knights of Columbus with flourished swords and feathered hats.

"This transcends bones. People are coming to say hello to a friend," said the Rev. Donald Kinney, an Oregon priest who has escorted the reliquary for much of its U.S. travels. Last stop was Salt Lake City, where 10,000 people visited the relic, he said.

Some Christians, including Catholics, view relics as a bit of history not particularly relevant to their faith in modern times.

Kinney, who chaired the committee planning the American tour, said he wondered if that would be the American response, but "over a million in the United States have come."

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Below, flanked by the honor guard of the Knights of Columbus,
the remains are venerated by the Catholic congregation.

Kinney and others have a hard time answering the question of why it draws a 21st-century crowd. His answer was an anecdote about a recent letter from a friend who described visiting a London exhibition of gowns worn by the late Princess Diana, in the midst of a glum crowd talking about her life, which ended in a tragic accident.

"There's peace and prayerfulness here," he said, motioning to the crowd. Kinney said people relate to the humble young woman because of her writings about "doing the littlest thing with the greatest love. Her writings have simplicity and purity."

People in Europe are accustomed to the relics of saints -- "some of the bigger churches have them," said John Balogh, who was born in Hungary. He said he thought it brought out a crowd because "these things aren't happening too often here. I read it drew a tremendous crowd in California and New York."

The church will remain open around the clock for visitation until tomorrow evening when a 7:30 p.m. Mass will be concelebrated by Honolulu Bishop Francis DiLorenzo and Bishop Ramon Arguelles, who will accompany the relic to the Philippines for a three-month tour.