Today in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI will give Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva a small box containing the right heel of Hawai'i's first saint.

Over the next three weeks, the relic will be hand-carried to ceremonies in three Mainland cities and at least 26 Hawai'i communities before finally ending up on Nov. 1 at its permanent home at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Downtown Honolulu — the church where Damien was ordained in 1864.

For Catholics, the procession of the relic is a chance to honor Father Damien and share a spiritual and literal proximity with him.

Non-Catholics are also expected to come out for celebrations with the relic, especially for an inter-faith event planned for 'Iolani Palace on Nov. 1, to commemorate the return of a small piece of Damien to the place where he did his life's work.

"The relic is a reminder of this incredible person who is a hero to Catholics and non-Catholics," said Father Marc Alexander, Catholic Diocese of Honolulu vicar general and theologian. "It's a very intimate reminder of Father Damien and who and what he was."

The Damien relic is the second to come to the Islands from the Vatican. In 1995, Damien's right hand was re-interred at Kalaupapa after the Sacred Hearts priest was beatified, the last step before becoming a saint. A lock of Damien's hair, meanwhile, is kept at the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts headquarters in Kane'ohe.

Damien was buried in 1889 at Kalaupapa, where he ministered to Hansen's disease patients for 16 years before dying from the disease at age 49. In 1936, his body was moved to a tomb in Louvain, Belgium, just outside his hometown of Tremelo, at the request of the Belgian government.

In Catholicism, any part of a saint's body is called a first-class relic. (A second-class relic is an item the saint used in life.)

Alexander said some non-Catholics might find the idea of a first-class relic foreign. But he pointed out many different religions and cultures consider bones sacred, including Native Hawaiians.

"There is a certain shock factor. For many people, they hear a body part is coming back and they say, 'That sounds weird,' " Alexander said. "But relics are not just a Catholic thing. I think if you look at it historically, other world religions, including Buddhism, respect very much the bones."

Alexander added that when Catholics honor relics, "we're really honoring the person that that person served, namely Jesus."

Honolulu diocesan officials expect big turnouts at events with the relic, which will arrive in Hilo on Oct. 20 with a motorcade. And on Oct. 27, it will be met at Manele Harbor on Lana'i, after a short ferry ride from Lahaina, with prayers and songs.

On Oct. 31, after arriving in Moloka'i a day earlier, it will go to Kalaupapa. Rather than flying it in, Damien Memorial School students will carry it down the hourlong hike to the Hansen's disease settlement.

Parishes in three Mainland cities — San Francisco, Oakland and Detroit — are also preparing for big crowds when the relic makes its way to them before getting to the Islands.

The relic will stop in Detroit on Oct. 13, and will be in San Francisco two days later for an evening veneration at St. Mary's Cathedral.

The cathedral holds 3,000 people and church officials say they expect it to be packed.

"It's one of those wonderful opportunities," said Doug Benbow, liturgy director at St. Mary's Cathedral. "This is a person who has been held as a treasure, a wonderful example of our faith. He's been canonized in our hearts for a long time."

Benbow said it makes sense that the relic would stop in San Francisco before moving on to the Islands.

In 1936, Damien's remains were met with huge crowds in San Francisco, where it stopped on its way to Belgium. Benbow said a chip of wood from Damien's coffin, which somehow came loose during that 1936 stop, was preserved in the altar at St. Mary's Cathedral.

The relic will be held in a specially made box crafted in Belgium. While on display, it will be placed in a larger koa box.

RELIC ITINERARY

The Damien relic presented to Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva today will make several stops before being placed permanently at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Downtown Honolulu. The dates below are the relic itinerary:

Oct. 12: Mass in Rome

Oct. 13: Detroit

Oct. 15: St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco

Oct. 16: Oakland

Oct. 17: Events in South Kona

Oct. 18: Celebrations at Immaculate Conception Church, Holualoa; St. Michael Church, Kailua, Kona

Oct. 19: Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Honoka'a; will then go to Waimea

Oct. 20: Hawi and Hilo

Oct. 21: St. Anthony, Laupahoehoe; Sacred Heart, Na'alehu; Holy Rosary, Pahala; St. Theresa, Mountain View; Holy Rosary, Kea'au

Oct. 24: Arrive in Kahului: St. Theresa Parish, Kihei; Christ the King Parish, Kahului; St. Anthony Parish, Wailuku; St. Mary Parish, Hana

Oct. 25: Holy Rosary Parish, Pa'ia; St. Joseph Parish, Makawao; Maui War Memorial Gym; Sacred Hearts, Kapalua

Oct. 26: Holy Ghost Mission, Kula; St. Ann Parish, Waihe'e; Maria Lanakila Parish, Lahaina

Oct. 27: Depart Lahaina by ferry, arrive at Manele Harbor on Lana'i; Sacred Hearts, Lana'i City

Oct. 28: Arrive in Lihu'e: Immaculate Conception Church, Lihu'e

Oct. 29: St. Catherine Parish and School, Kapa'a; St. Theresa Parish and School, Kekaha; Holy Cross Parish, Kalaheo; St. Raphael Parish, Koloa

Oct. 30: Arrive on Moloka'i for celebrations at St. Joseph Church, Kamalo; Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Kalua'aha; St. Sophia Church, Kaunakakai

Oct. 31: Arrive at Kalaupapa, following procession down hiking trail

Nov. 1: Arrive in Honolulu, with celebrations at 'Iolani Palace and Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace

Source: Catholic Diocese of Honolulu