‘I’m so proud of her’
By Lisa Benoit and Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
VATICAN CITY
Franciscan director of the cause of Mother Marianne, Sister Mary Laurence Hanley of Syracuse beamed throughout the ceremony and long afterward. It had been her full time job for the past 30 years to work toward the beatification of Mother Marianne. No one had worked harder than she to make this moment happen.
But for someone who can speak for hours on the exemplary qualities of Mother Marianne, Sister Mary Laurence has few words to describe the fulfillment of her own efforts. And when she does, it is still in the context of Mother Marianne.
“I’m so proud of her,” she told the Hawaii Catholic Herald moments after the Mass ended. “She’s up there now. She’s come into her own.”
“The ceremony was ideal,” she said.
Her partner, the postulator of Mother Marianne’s cause, Franciscan Father Ernestino Piacentini, was more effusive.
“I am so happy,” he said. Blessed Marianne is an “example for the church and for the world.”
Father Piacentini said that he become totally committed to the cause when he visited Kalaupapa and saw a sign that said, “Smile! It will not break your face.”
He said Blessed Marianne’s message is to “smile and be generous to all people in need.”
Mother Marianne offered the “social aspect of holiness” in her service to the patients, a model very much in need today. “There are 15 to 18 million leprosy patients in the world that need help today,” he said.
Kalaupapa resident Winnie Harada was jubilant.
“I’m elated!” she exclaimed as she exited St. Peter’s, saying it was a “privilege” to attend.
“I am so happy to be here,” she said.
Dr. Paul DeMare, one of three relatives of Blessed Marianne present, described the ceremony in one word: “Wow!”
He said it was fantastic to be in Rome for the ceremony and was glad to see Sister Mary Laurence’s work “coming to fruition.”
Sister Patricia Burkard, general minister of the Sisters of St. Francis said that “all these many years, the sisters have known the sanctity of Blessed Marianne.”
“Now we give her over to the universal church,” she said.
Speaking of her religious community, she said that the Mother Marianne is also a “great reminder of our mission.”
The Hawaii choir members were delighted at being given the opportunity to participate.
Monette Forte, director of the Mother Marianne choir, said that she was “very flattered” that Franciscan Sister Marie Jose Romano asked her to help lead the group.
“I thanked her again today,” she said after the beatification.
“Is there anything higher than to sing at the Vatican?” She asked, “unless you sing with the choirs of angels.”
She was very pleased by the performance of the choir. “I think the Holy Spirit must have helped a lot,” she said, “and the high ceilings.”
Her husband Fred was moved by the liturgy. “It was so beautiful, I can’t believe how the rest of the world wouldn’t want to become Catholic. It’s living history.”
Choir member Dr. Celina Guerrero of Star of the Sea Parish in Waialae-Kahala said, “I can’t believe it happened today and I was here. I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t come.”
Charlotte Leong, a member from St. Anthony Parish in Kailua said, “I feel special and blessed. I just couldn’t believe I was sitting there. I got chicken skin.”
“Each time we practiced we sang a little better,” she said. “Today, it came together — everybody sang with their hearts.”
Another Hawaii pilgrim from Kailua, Wendy Roylo Hee, said, “It’s a thrill to be here.”
Dr. Glorifin Belmonte, choir member and a parishioner of St. Elizabeth in Aiea, said it was a “wonderful feeling to be a part of such an awesome event. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Dr. Amelia Jacang, choir member and pediatrician at St. Francis West, found the occasion “spiritually uplifting.”
“I felt like I was going straight to heaven,” she said.
Anne Itomura, who attended the beatification of Blessed Damien deVeuster in Belgium in 1995, felt “fortunate” for the opportunity to attend another one.
“I just had to go to Mother Marianne,” she said.