Despite the economic downturn, Hawai'i travel agents say sales of tours to Rome for the canonization of Father Damien in October are brisk, with hundreds of Hawai'i residents already signed up to make the 8,000-mile trip.

"It's wonderful," said Randy King, owner of Seawind Tours & Travel, which is organizing the official pilgrimage of Bishop Larry Silva of the Roman Catholic Church in Hawai'i to Damien's hometown in Belgium and on to Rome for the canonization.

Seawind sold out on its tours to the canonization within 24 hours of offering them in February, but more seats were added. As of Friday, about 20 of 500 were left.

Meanwhile, two 48-seat packages offered through Adriatic Pilgrimages in California are already sold out.

And a canonization tour offered through Panda Travel has sold 20 seats.

The tours cost from about $3,000 to about $6,000 per person.

Travel agents say they're not surprised by the response, even with the canonization still five months away.

"It's being part of a once-in-a-lifetime event, being part of something you've never seen," King said.

The Rev. Damien de Veuster, who ministered to the Hansen's disease patients of Kalaupapa when no one else would until his death from the disease in 1889, will be elevated to sainthood Oct. 11 in Rome.

Only eight others from what is now American soil have received the high honor from the Catholic Church. Damien, born Joseph de Veuster in 1840, is the first person from the Islands to become a saint.

'A DIVERSE GROUP'

In addition to the bishop, passengers on the Seawind tour include nine Hansen's disease patients from Kalaupapa and their caregivers, a 70-person choir that plans to sing at Masses in Belgium and Rome, a hula halau and scores of the faithful who have waited for Damien's canonization for decades. The choir is made up of everyone from teenagers to the elderly.

"It's quite a diverse group," said Calvin Liu, director of the choir.

Honolulu resident Nancy Barry signed up for a tour shortly after the canonization date was announced Feb. 21. She also visited Damien's hometown of Tremelo, Belgium, in 1995, with a group of Hawai'i residents after it was announced Damien would be beatified — the final step before someone becomes a saint.

Barry, who used to volunteer with Hansen's disease patients in Kalaupapa, said she expects the canonization tour to be "extremely touching." She added, "Damien is my spiritual guide."

INTEREST LEVEL HIGH

The canonization of Damien has attracted the interest of Catholics on the Mainland and abroad as well. Though Hawai'i will have a large contingent assembled at the Vatican for the canonization, people from the Mainland and Belgium are also expected to come.

Anton Salah, general manager of Adriatic Pilgrimages in San Pedro, Calif., which is organizing six tours to the Damien canonization, said he has gotten several calls from Mainland Catholics who want to see the "leper priest of Moloka'i" become a saint. But much of the interest has come from Hawai'i residents, he added. Two of his tours are already full, and he has at least four other 48-seat tours that he says are selling quickly. Some of his tours also go to Jerusalem and other cities.

He added that he believes the sluggish economy could be spurring some to delay buying tickets.

Justin Kahoaka, business development manager at Panda Travel, said he expects to sell out his 60-passenger tour to the canonization. So far, there are about 40 seats left. But Kahoaka said there have been a lot of queries from prospective travelers.

"We're doing very well," he said, adding that the Panda tour will also visit Florence and Venice and is geared toward those who want to go to the canonization, but don't necessarily want to go on a pilgrimage. "Ours is basically a wine-and-dine tour," he said.

At Seawind, seats for the canonization tour sold out within 24 hours of registration opening. To help accommodate waiting lists, more seats were added. So far, the tour that visits Belgium and Rome has been increased by 100 hotel rooms. An additional 50 to 75 hotel rooms have been added to tours that go only to Rome.

The Seawind tour will follow Silva as he makes a pilgrimage to sites associated with Damien.

Scheduled stops on the Belgian leg of the trip include celebrations in Damien's hometown and a special Mass at Saint Anthony's Chapel in Louvain, where Damien's tomb is. In Rome, those traveling with the bishop will attend a private Mass at St. Peter's Basilica and a vigil Mass for Damien. There will also be a special Hawaiian Mass with a relic of Damien.

Bob Wills, who is leading a tour of Maui residents, said he is getting plenty of calls for information but still has space available.

So far, he has about 15 people signed up for his trip. He needs a minimum of 40.

He suspects people are waiting to purchase tickets not because of the economy, but because "it's a Maui thing."

"Everybody waits until the last minute," he said. "People who want to go are going to go," regardless of the economy.