Bishop Larry Silva on Oct. 18 views the grave of his great-grandfather in Kalaupapa for the first time.
By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald
KALAUPAPA
Kalaupapa, Molokai, sometimes reveals its secrets. It was there, on Oct. 18, that Bishop Larry Silva saw for the first time a couple pieces of his past that had eluded him for years.
Shortly after landing to participate in an ecumenical service honoring those buried in the settlement, he was driven to one of its bigger cemeteries two minutes down the road from the airport, and shown the headstone of John Santos, 1865-1921.
Joao (John) Santos was his great-grandfather on his mother’s side. He was sent to Kalaupapa in 1918.
The stone, broken from its base, was lying loose on another grave. Where it originally stood is unknown. Parts of the cemetery, which is located just yards from the ocean, were broken and strewn by the tsunami of 1946. The wind, rain and corrosive salt air have also had their say.
John Santos’ headstone, which appeared to be marble, was discovered a few weeks earlier by Valerie Monson, secretary for Ka Ohana O Kalaupapa.
As the clouds let loose a brief, heavy downpour, Bishop Silva lingered at the stone, commenting on its design, the angel etched at the top, the stylized Japanese chrysanthemum at the bottom.
The dates matched those he had been told, he said. He said an aunt had told him about 15 years ago that he had family in Kalaupapa. He visited the peninsula and found confirmation in the health records, but never any physical evidence of a grave.
Joao Santos’ daughter, Minnie Santos Aruda, was also sent to Kalaupapa. Her gravesite has yet to be located, but her home still stands.
The bishop and the dozen or so people traveling with him then wandered up the grassy slope to walk among other gray, crumbling graves. A few yards off, a few fresh mounds of sandy soil decorated with bunches of flowers marked the cemetery’s most recent arrivals.
Bishop Silva returned once more to his great grandfather’s stone, pulling it up to look underneath.
Before heading back to their vans, the group paused at the grave of Paul Harada, who died last year after living 64 years in Kalaupapa. Bishop Silva said a prayer.
“Thank you for the history of this place,” he said, which “shows the resilience of the human spirit.”
“Let us learn from this legacy,” he continued, “so that we can reach out to others.”
He concluded by asking God’s mercy on “those whose graves are known, and those whose graves never will be known, that they may rest in peace eternally.”
Bishop Silva was then driven to the former home of Minnie Santos Aruda, who went to Kalaupapa in 1935 and died there in 1943. Like most of the houses in Kalaupapa, the tiny wooden structure had been home to a succession of patients. The last was the late Elaine Remigio. The place is now being renovated to house a settlement carpenter.
The bishop’s ancestors were among the first wave of Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii in the late 1800s. He was born in Hawaii but lived all but the first year of his life in Oakland, Calif.