ROME » A contingent of Hansen’s disease patients, nuns, priests, Catholic pilgrims and hula dancers from across Hawaii traveling on a nearly 10,000-mile pilgrimage to Rome attracted crowds wherever they went — from San Francisco to Syracuse, N.Y., to Rome.
Throughout the journey to witness Mother Marianne Cope’s canonization in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, the group drew onlookers curious about the strains of ukulele and the sight and sounds of hula performed in some of Italy’s most storied basilicas — as well as spontaneous outbursts of Hawaiian songs when the pilgrims took over restaurants after long days of prayer and bus rides that typically began at 6 a.m. and ended as late as midnight.
Led by members of Leimomi Ho’s Keali‘ika‘apunihonua Ke‘ena A‘o Hula halau, the group of more than 200 Hawaii residents filled Rome’s Ristorante Cecilia Metella on Wednesday night with a spirited, impromptu repertoire that included traditional Hawaiian melodies, chalangalang favorites and a Samoan tune that even got some Kalaupapa patients out of their wheelchairs.
Patient Meli Watanuki was cheered loudly as she danced to "Minoi Minoi E." Then fellow Hansen’s disease patient Gloria Marks, who was in a wheelchair for most of the trip, got a raucous reception when she stood from her seat and danced along.
The halau dancers filled the restaurant for several numbers — spacing themselves throughout the aisles and causing brief traffic problems for the startled but indulgent restaurant staff — as the rest of the Hawaii contingent whooped, hollered and applauded.
The evening ended with everyone else from Hawaii singing "Hawai‘i Aloha," hands clasped and voices raised as the travelers formed a giant lei around the dining room.
Saturday night’s dinner, the last before the canonization, again saw part of the Hawaii contingent bursting with song and wrapping up the night with "Hawai‘i Aloha." A few pilgrims for another saint-to-be, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, happened to dine in the same restaurant and joined in the festivities.
During daily Masses at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall, the Basilica of St. Mary Major and St. Francis Basilica, and during a reception on the grounds of the Vatican Museum, surprised bystanders who typically started off standing to the side often found themselves photographing the contingent and even joining along in song and Communion.
But Carol Franko, Kalaupapa’s nursing supervisor, made sure that onlookers treated the nine Hansen’s disease patients with respect.
During Mass Friday in Tivoli, Italy, at the Church of St. Mary Major, one woman walked directly up to the patients seated in wheelchairs in front of the church and "was staring at them," said Franko, who ensured the woman did not bother the patients while they received Communion.
The state Department of Health not only looks after the patients’ welfare, Franko said, "we’re also providing care so they maintain their privacy and dignity."
Calvin Liu, director of music at Honolulu’s Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace and one of the primary musicians on the pilgrimage, said he, too, looks out for the patients to make sure their needs are met.
While he does not directly watch other people interested in the Kalaupapa residents, Liu does notice the patients’ reactions to strangers’ curiosity.
Even if they do not necessarily enjoy all the attention, Liu said, "For the most part I think patients are used to it."
The patients might get stares from most people, Liu said, but "I just don’t see them as different."
