One in an ongoing series about Blessed Damien’s elevation to sainthood on Oct. 11, 2009

Photo courtesy of Boy Scouts

Boy Scouts Nick Huff and Zachary Baysa collect donations outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu to help pay for their way to the Oct. 11 canonization of Blessed Damien in Rome.

Rome-bound: scouting adventure of a lifetime

By Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

Joining the hundreds of Hawaii pilgrims headed to Belgium and Rome in October for Blessed Damien de Veuster’s canonization will be nine Oahu Boy Scouts, who plan to share their experiences with other young people through a Facebook page, daily streaming videos and online chats.

Why are the Scouts going? Boy Scout troop leader and Our Lady of Peace parishioner John Fielding came up with the idea while talking with some fellow Knights of Columbus about the importance of the canonization not only to the Catholic Church but also to the entire state.

“I thought far too often we miss the opportunity to … educate our kids about these blessed events,” Fielding said. He also recalled Pope Benedict XVI’s encouraging more church scouting involvement and thought this would be a perfect way to do that.

After getting Bishop Larry Silva’s informal blessing, Fielding asked Boy Scout troops around Oahu to nominate an outstanding Catholic Scout in their troop to join the “Saint Damien Scouts.” He described the scouts as boys who “are good in their faith but maybe don’t necessarily understand why they are Catholic or maybe they want to know more about being Catholic.”

Joining eight Catholic Scouts is a Protestant Boy Scout who attends Damien Memorial School. He will add a different perspective to the Boy Scouts’ coverage of the canonization events. Because of logistical reasons, all the Scouts are from Oahu.

The youngest Scout in the group, 14-year-old Nick Huff of St. Jude Parish in Kapolei, said he’s been reading up on Damien since being chosen to join the Saint Damien Scouts.

“I figured the trip is going to be a great experience because Father Damien was a great man for what he’s done for the island of Molokai and just in general for Hawaii,” said the incoming Kapolei High School freshman.

Fielding says the goal while in Belgium and Rome is to pair up the boys and give each group a MP4 video camera to record the canonization happenings. Videos will be posted at 10 p.m. Rome time, or 10 a.m. that same day Hawaii time, allowing for teachers to show videos of what happened that day in Belgium and Rome to their classes.

The boys are planning to Facebook chat with Hawaii kids and also possibly set up webcam chats.

The nine boys have been learning about video production and interviewing skills and had practice recently videoing a hula halau performance. They’ve uploaded an introductory video on their Saint Damien Scouts group to their Facebook page, which can be found by searching on Facebook for Damien de Veuster or going to facebook.com/saintdamienscouts.

Huff likes that people who can’t attend the canonization will be able to watch the Scout-produced videos and learn more about Damien.

“He’s a big part of Hawaii history,” he said.

According to Lora Baysa, the mother of Zachary Baysa, another Saint Damien Scout, her son wasn’t all that excited when he first got invited to be a part of the group.

“He was just your typical teenage boy,” she said. “He was like, ‘What’s that?’”

But since Zachary and the other scouts have started to meet almost weekly to fundraise and learn about Damien and reporting about their trip, Zachary says his attitude has changed. “Now I feel honored to be a part of this historic event,” he said. “I have also bonded well with the other boys traveling with me.”

The Scouts will be traveling to the canonization with several parent chaperones and staying with host families in Belgium and Rome. They are fundraising for their travel expenses by setting up tables at different parishes and will soon be selling handmade knotted rosaries with Damien medallions.

If you’re interested in donating, call John Fielding at 306-6878 or send an e-mail to stdamienScouts@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of Our Lady of Good Counsel School

Art teacher Gail Tulchin and her talented students with Damien statue.

Damien comes to life (size) in Pearl City school

While Catholic school students throughout Hawaii have been hearing stories and writing essays and coloring coloring books about Blessed Damien, a group of eighth graders at Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Pearl City did something to really make the saint come alive. They made a sculpture of Damien that stands about as tall as they are.

Guided by art teacher Gail Tulchin, and using the medium of papier-mache, the students worked for months on the project. Not everything went smoothly. Like the real Father Damien, they had their challenges. The biggest came when a rainstorm soaked the sculpture, which had been left outside to dry, right through to the frame.

The paper mache ripped off and the students had to start all over again. But they persevered and completed the project before the end of school. They presented it to the school at one of its last assemblies of the year.