The original painting is 9×12″, acrylic on canvas.

Siloama Church was established in 1866 only months after the first people were forcibly relocated to the Kalaupapa peninsula on the island of Molokai. Exiled during Hawaii’s Hansen’s disease crisis (formerly called leprosy) people were left to their own devices to survive. The name means “Church of the Healing Spring,” offering spiritual solace amidst a period of immense physical suffering and societal abandonment.

Deeply rooted in the community the church and grounds served both patients and Protestant missionaries. The original building fell into disrepair, but was meticulously reconstructed in 1966 in honor of the centennial of the settlement. Siloama Church, and it’s close neighbor Saint Philomena Roman Catholic Church represent the enduring spirit of people when a disease with no cure silently crept through the population in the Hawaiian Islands.

The following photographs were taken while visiting Kalawao in 2008. There is an presence in the church of suffering alongside the extraordinary compassion of people who dedicated their lives to providing relief.

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