November 10, 2009

Many Hawaii readers will recall two remarkable books by our client Shelly Mecum: God’s Photo Album (Harper SanFrancisco), and this time last year, The Watercolor Cat, with Peggy Chun (Mutual Publishing). The astonishing and moving Peggy Chun saga did not stop there. I’ll let Shelly give you the (very) short version, which she just wrote for an application to a conference.

Pope Benedict, by Damien painting by Peggy Chun, greeting Honolulu's Holy Trinity School Teacher Shelly Mecum, students Mark Giron and Lorrin Baptista, and Teacher Christine Matsukawa. Personal Secretarry Monsignor Georg Gaenswein looks on. Photo Courtesy of Servizio Fotografico de "L'O.R." 00120 Citta Del Vaticano.

By Shelly Mecum

We have such a sweet story---142 children, a paralyzed woman suffering with ALS, and a monumental dream trapped within the lifeless body of this artist. She wanted to paint a portrait of a Saint, Father Damien of Moloka‘i--and could not lift--literally--a finger towards realizing this dream. Then came the kids from Holy Trinity School who said 'YES' to her in a mighty way. They spent the next eighteen months of their lives painting 50,000 quarter inch squares following the directions of internationally renown paralyzed watercolor artist, Peggy Chun.

Week by week, the eighth grade language arts teacher, Shelly Mecum, would come to Peggy’s bedside to receive the instructions from the artist. Peggy could not speak. She could only move her eyes and spell her instructions through a primitive spell-board. The children would receive instructions like this: “Wet on Wet. Base color aquamarine, drop in color cadmium lemon-yellow.” The color formulas changed weekly but their love grew square by square. These children in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade understood the importance of their labor and the joy they were bringing to the life of this dying artist. Simply put, they were Peggy’s hands.

Then Peggy’s artist assistant was flown from Poland. Following Peggy’s carefully crafted composition, spelled letter by letter with her eyes, Magdalena Hawajska painted and assembled the squares into a masterpiece, 8 feet by 4 feet, depicting Hawaii’s hero, Father Damien of Moloka‘i—now Saint Damien.

Peggy ultimately desired to present this painting to the Pope in Rome. Sadly she lost her battle to ALS last year, November 19, 2008 before a private jet could be secured. Before she died, the whole middle school crowded into her bedroom and sang for her ("You Raise Me Up"—Josh Groban, "Love is All You Need"--Beatles, Green Day's "I hope you had the time of your life"), recited poetry, and read essays sharing how Peggy forever changed their lives.

Determined to realize Peggy’s final wish required a miracle from Heaven. Yes, we were granted this blessed miracle. At athe recent Hawaii Writers Conference, Karlene Petitt, a pilot from Delta airlines, was moved by our need for 4 airplane tickets to Rome and the transportation of this monumental painting. Karlene emailed Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta. Within days the request came back approved. The next problem: how to secure an audience with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI? The children stormed Heaven with prayers while we stormed the Vatican with calls. The head of the Papal Household sent word that an audience had been granted. The children of the school erupted into wild whoops. Next, we needed to secure hotel accommodations. 100,000 pilgrims were journeying to Rome for the Canonization of Blessed Damien and four other saints. Hotels were booked. Following a heart-felt email, Best Western Globus Hotel stepped up and offered a family suite to accommodate 2 students and 2 teachers. The final hurdle presented itself the night before the departure. The Damien painting could yield thousands of dollars in tariffs at Rome’s customs. The US Ambassador of the Holy See’s communication officer came up with the solution. They had the Vatican’s customs office pick up the painting in Rome and store it until the Audience.

Father Damien was canonized in front of 100,000 pilgrims, October 11^th, 2009 including this tiny delegation from Holy Trinity School. Through the grace of God, extravagant corporate donations, and the monumental love between 142 children and our beloved courageous artist, Peggy Chun, The Damien was created and presented to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, at His general Audience on October 14^, 2009. In return, our children have witnessed something deeply important to carry them through the rest of their lives: Prayers are heard and answered soundly. Faith is real and can move insurmountable mountains in its path.

Pope Benedict reviews Peggy Chun's Damien portrait with the party from Holy Trinity Church, Honolulu. Photo Courtesy of Servizio Fotografico de "L'O.R." 00120 Citta Del Vaticano.

Shelly Mecum with Pope Benedict XVI on the steps of St. Peter's. There were 50,000 people in St. Peter's Square. Photo Courtesy of Servizio Fotografico de "L'O.R." 00120 Citta Del Vaticano.

Tags: Best Western, Delta, Ed Bastian, Holy Trinity School, Karlene Petitt, Peggy Chun, Pope Bendict XVI, Shelly Mecum, St. Damien, Vatican

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 11:49 pm and is filed under Hawaii Inspirational, Inspirational, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.