By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

It looks like St. Christopher will be carried through Kaka'ako on Sunday for the last time. He has to be carried because he was found in the mountains in Portugal without legs. For 90 years, members of the Kewalo Holy Ghost Society have faithfully carried St. Christopher down Queen Street on Feast Day.

But a new location for the Kewalo Holy Ghost has been approved. The new location will have more parking stalls. There will be pews in the new chapel for communing with the 30 saints on the altar. There will be a bigger social hall with kitchen and rest rooms.

Still, Kaka'ako won't be the same without the Holy Ghost. There won't be a parade and the crowning of the queen at the old, familiar stand.

The Feast Day of the Holy Ghost is as local as bon dances and ching ming. It's when Portuguese get together and rededicate themselves to doing good. In ancient times, the custom was to invite 12 starving people, dress them in white robes and sit them at a table with bowls of Portuguese bean soup and bread.

That's why you're welcome to attend the feast on Sunday at the Kewalo Holy Ghost, 815 Queen St. You might even get a chance to carry a saint in the parade.

In the old days, every Portuguese community in Hawai'i had a Holy Ghost Society. Bernard Correa, president of the Kewalo Holy Ghost, said there were 18 societies on the island from Waimanalo to Wai'anae. Four Portuguese men in Kaka'ako formed the Kewalo Holy Ghost in 1915 to bring people together.

That was when Kaka'ako consisted of immigrants. Portuguese came to the chapel at the Kewalo Ghost to make an offering and ask the saints for a little kokua. Members got together for socials. They held dances to Portuguese music.

But redevelopment in the '60s raised the price of rent and forced many members out of Kaka'ako. Now they live as far away as Kalihi and Wai'anae. The widening of Queen Street will take away parking. Correa said they decided it was more sensible to sell the land and move to a more convenient place.

So the feast day parade won't wind through Kaka'ako anymore. Grandparents will go somewhere else to buy tickets for a chance to crown a granddaughter queen. Here's how it works:

Seven paper slips with numbers, plus a lot of blank slips, are put in a bowl. You can buy as many tickets as you want for chances to draw. If you pull No. 7, you name the queen for next year's parade. Pull No. 5 and you get to carry St. Christopher. No. 6 carries the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

A native of Portugal carries the Portuguese flag. Anybody can ask to carry one of the saints on the altar. The procession begins at Mother Waldron Park at 9 a.m. followed by 9:30 Mass at the Holy Ghost, a traditional roast beef lunch at 11 a.m., then games, food booths, bingo and other activities. For information, call 531-9862.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.