One of St. Damien's heels returns today to the church where Damien ministered to the once-hopeless and forgotten on the Kalaupapa Peninsula before the relic moves on to more elaborate ceremonies in Honolulu tomorrow.

Jonathan Padron, a senior at Damien Memorial School in Kalihi, will be one of four Damien students who will carry the relic down a winding, 3.2-mile trail from "Topside" Molokai down to Kalaupapa, where it will then be driven to nearby Kalawao.

Padron knows the serpentine trail is used primarily by mules to carry tourists down to Kalaupapa. So he has a strategy to ensure he doesn't drop the relic when it's his turn to carry it on the trail.

"I'm just going to hold on tight and watch where I step," Padron said.

Padron and Jerick Sablan, another senior at Damien, will then serve as altar boys for the Mass at St. Philomena, which will be conducted by Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of the archdiocese of Malines-Brussels and primate of Belgium.

"I was aware that not many kids are allowed to go there," said Padron, referring to Kalaupapa's ban on children. "I'm 18 and kind of an adult. So I not only get to go there but carry the relic of St. Damien. It's an extremely big honor."

The relic is either Damien's right or left heel, according to the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.

Damien's heel then will be driven back to Kalaupapa, where it will temporarily sit on display inside St. Francis Church "for veneration" by the Hansen's disease patients, state health workers who care for the patients and by National Park Service employees, said Patrick Downes, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.

On Oct. 11, Pope Benedict XVI canonized five people, including Father Damien, a 19th-century priest who cared for Hansen's disease patients in Kalawao and Kalaupapa. His work and ascendancy to sainthood has been praised by President Obama as an inspiration to those helping AIDS sufferers today.

Tomorrow, more elaborate ceremonies are planned in Honolulu for Damien's heel, beginning with a noon Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, where Damien was ordained.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Here is a summary of tomorrow's events:

• 1 to 1:45 p.m.: Prelude concert at Iolani Palace by the Royal Hawaiian Band.

• 1:30 to 2 p.m.: Procession from the cathedral to Iolani Palace, including the brothers and sisters of the Sacred Hearts Congregation, Bishop Larry Silva, Cardinal Danneels and 13 visiting bishops from California.

At the palace, the relic will be carried by Alii Sir Nathan Kepilino KCK and Mamo Hawaii Gora of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I and escorted by the Royal Guard with representatives from the Hawaiian Royal Societies and The Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

• 2 to 2:55 p.m.: Speakers will include Princess Abigail Kawananakoa; Bishop Silva; Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona; Speaker of the House Calvin Say; Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick of the Episcopal Church in Hawaii; the Rev. William H. Kaina; retired Pastor of Kawaiahao Church; the Rev. Dr. Charles Buck, Conference Minister, Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ; and Elder Scott D. Whiting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• 2:55 p.m.:A private procession will proceed to the palace's throne room.

The Men of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I will then carry the relic to the statue of Queen Liliuokalani, who visited Damien and prepared the documents to present the Order of Kaläkaua to him.

At the statue of Queen Liliuokalani, the Royal Order of Kamehameha will chant and then lead the procession to the statue of Saint Damien.

A procession of young people will then carry the relic back to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, where it will be housed.