By Nancy Frazier O'Brien

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved the addition of an optional memorial honoring Blessed Damien of Molokai to the U.S. liturgical calendar.

The addition of the May 10 feast of Blessed Damien to the national calendar was one of several liturgical actions taken by the U.S. bishops during their Nov. 15-18 general meeting in Washington.

In votes announced Nov. 17, they also approved a Spanish-language translation of 42 original U.S. blessings included in the U.S. Book of Blessings and a new introduction to the Book of the Gospels, replacing a 1984 version.

Each of the liturgical votes required a two-thirds majority of the 265 Latin-rite bishops in the United States, as well as subsequent confirmation by the Vatican.

On the optional memorial honoring Blessed Damien, the vote was 235-1, with one bishop abstaining. The addition had been proposed by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of Honolulu.

In a letter to the bishops' Liturgy Committee, Bishop DiLorenzo said Blessed Damien's life "beckons us as Americans, back to the loving heart of God, by bringing compassion, healing, hope and love to our society, which is experiencing many spiritual, social and moral ills."

Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian missionary priest who served the leprosy patients on Molokai more than 100 years ago, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Belgium on June 4, 1995.

Since his death in 1889, "the cultus of the Blessed Damien of Molokai both in the United States and internationally" has grown, especially in the 44 countries where the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary -- the congregation to which Father Damien belonged -- are working, the Honolulu bishop wrote.

He also noted that since part of Blessed Damien's remains were reinterred at Molokai the month after his beatification, the number of pilgrimages to the site has doubled.

"The U.S. Parks Service assists in valiantly preserving and protecting this new U.S. national park," he added.

The resolution on Blessed Damien was approved by the bishops with no discussion.

On the Spanish-language translation, the vote was 233-0, with one abstention. The bishops received only a few pages of excerpts from the 300-page text, which features prayers for such events as the blessing of a parish catechetical center or the blessing of a Christmas tree.

If approved by the Vatican, the blessings will become part of a U.S. edition of the "Bendicional," which will also include already approved texts of the Mexican bishops' conference for the translation of "De Benedictionibus," a 1986 Vatican liturgical text.

Next year, the bishops will be asked to consider a recommendation on the Spanish-language translation of the Scriptures for inclusion in the "Bendicional" and other Spanish-language liturgical books, said Archbishop Jerome G. Hanus of Dubuque, Iowa, chairman of the Committee on the Liturgy.

The third liturgical matter was an introduction to the Book of the Gospels, approved on a 241-1 vote.

Archbishop Hanus said the new introduction was designed for editions of the Gospels in cathedrals and larger churches, where it is recommended to have "a beautifully designed Book of the Gospels, separate from any other book of readings."

He said the U.S. edition of the Book of the Gospels would assist in a similar ongoing project at the Vatican to revise the book for the universal church.

As approved, the introduction says the Book of the Gospels "is venerated above all the books of readings by churches of both East and West."

"Thus the Book of the Gospels as a sign of the presence of Christ in his word proclaimed is accorded places of honor in the church's liturgy," it adds.

The rest of the brief introduction details how the book is to be carried in and out of church, when and by whom it is kissed, the words to be used when the Gospel is proclaimed, and other liturgical matters.