For six months, they have come together twice a week in a room at Saint Augustine's Church in Waikiki, perfecting moves and learning chants in preparation for what will surely be some of the most memorable performances of their lives.

On Thursday, when 11 Hansen's disease patients from Kalaupapa, Moloka'i, head to Belgium and Italy for a pilgrimage to culminate with the canonization of Father Damien in Rome, a 30-member hula halau will be with them to dance at a host of Masses and celebrations.

Because of time constraints, the halau won't be performing at Father Damien's canonization Oct. 11 in St. Peter's Square, as members had hoped to do. The dancers also have been told they can't dance at a special Mass on Oct. 9 at St. Peter's Basilica, in which Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva will be the celebrant, because of concerns over religious protocols.

Still, they plan performances for almost every day of the trip and will dance in some of the most historic churches in Europe, including the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

Their job is to bring a taste of Hawai'i to Europe, and to remind the world that though Father Damien was born in Belgium, he did his greatest work some 7,500 miles away — in an isolated Hansen's disease settlement under the shadow of the tallest sea cliffs in the world.

"We're not going to be a tourist show," said halau member Ka'uhane Aiu, 48. Of the trip, he said, "This one will be for Father Damien."

Leimomi Ho, kumu hula of Keali'ika'apunihonua Ke'ena A'o Hula, said the halau has been working tirelessly since March to prepare for the trip.

Ho also said the group is prepared to observe any religious protocols that are requested of them.

The halau is calling its performances at Masses "liturgical gesturing," since some church authorities do not support dancing during services.

They have also thought hard about their dress and the movements they'll do.

The dancers, ranging in age from 19 to 62, will wear long-sleeve tops when they perform and cloth skirts with bloomers. They'll be performing hula kahiko only, and will be wearing kukui nut and maile lei.

The blouses they will wear are white or green.

There was hope the halau would be in the lineup to dance at the canonization in St. Peter's Square, which tens of thousands are expected to attend to see Father Damien and four others elevated to sainthood.

But time constraints, officials say, mean the halau and a Hawai'i choir won't be able to perform. A Spanish choir is scheduled to sing at the ceremony to honor Father Damien.

The Vatican made the final call on the performances.

DISAPPOINTING NEWS

The Rev. Lane Akiona, pastor of Saint Augustine Church in Waikiki, said he was a little disappointed when he heard the halau would not be able to perform at the canonization.

A halau did perform at the beatification ceremony for Father Damien in 1995 in Belgium, when the Sacred Hearts priest who ministered to Hansen's disease patients was honored with the title "blessed."

Akiona traveled to Rome during the summer for a mission, in part, to determine what kind of hula would be allowed during Masses in the city.

Dancing is not forbidden during Masses, but the Vatican has in the past frowned on dancing in church. Pope Benedict XVI is also more conservative than his predecessor, John Paul II — one of the reasons officials locally wanted to hammer out protocols before leaving.

Akiona said he was told that the hula halau could not perform at a Mass on Oct. 9 at St. Peter's Basilica for patients and about 500 Hawai'i pilgrims in Rome for the canonization. But they will be able to perform during other Masses in the city, including one following the canonization, called a Hawaiian Mass, at St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Akiona said he didn't get any explanation on why hula wasn't allowed at certain events.

"I would presume that much of the things that we do here locally where we would involve a hula halau, they don't understand that," Akiona said. "They see it just as a hula, just as a dance."

Akiona added having the halau on the trip is vital.

"It helps to educate others about Hawaiians and also to share the kind of cultural elements that are very important to us," he said in an interview this week. "With the large group going, we want to have that connection to the homeland."

The Rev. Alfred Bell, general postulator for the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, who is helping to oversee Father Damien canonization events, confirmed from Rome that the hula halau and the Hawai'i choir were not in the line-up to perform at the canonization. "There's no time," Bell said.

The canonization will kick off at 10 a.m., and run to about 12:30 p.m. (10 p.m. Saturday to 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Hawai'i time).

The performances are scheduled for just before the formal canonization proceedings start.

SEVERAL CELEBRATIONS

Bell said that dancing during Mass "is not forbidden," and added that the halau will have plenty of time to perform during several celebrations in Rome surrounding the canonization.

"Everybody wants to do something extraordinary," he said. "We are free to do that ... in our celebrations."

Bell said that though the halau won't be performing, one Hawai'i resident will have a big role in the event.

Audrey Toguchi, the 'Aiea woman whose cancer cure was ruled by the Vatican as Father Damien's second miracle, which guaranteed his elevation to sainthood, will present a gift to the pope. He said Toguchi will also receive communion from the pope.

Ho said that her dancers aren't saddened about not being able to dance at the canonization.

She said her halau will dance whenever and wherever they are asked to.

"We'll play it by ear," she said.

The halau is paying its own way to Belgium and Rome. Members have been holding fundraisers - including plate lunch and bake sales — for months to raise money. They have also been pitching in out of their own pockets for the trip, which is costing the dancers $4,619 a head.

At a halau practice this week, members said they were excited when they were told the group was headed to Italy and Belgium.

In preparation for the trip, much of the halau visited Kalaupapa. They have also prepared special performances, including an oli or chant about Father Damien.

"I'm very excited," said dancer Rosie Vierra-Schoening, 37, "to be able to share my hula in a place where people have never seen it."