Holy Rosary Church

On Baldwin avenue near Paia rests the Holy Rosary Church, home to a memorial of Father Damien.  Damien was the Roman Catholic priest that lived on the Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokai, where he cared for and lived with Hawaii's leprosy patients.   Since performing three miracles, the Pope canonized Father Damien in October 2009 creating Hawaii's first saint in the process.

King Kamehameha V, determined to rid Hawaii of Hansen's disease (leprosy), quarantined all those afflicted to the Kalaupapa settlement beginning in 1866.  I've heard stories of early patients literally dumped from the transport canoes near shore and left to swim to Kalaupapa to fend for themselves.

The settlement is definitely worth a visit, although it's best to book a tour in advance.  The peninsula is surrounded on 3 sides by ocean (duh) and the 4th side abuts a very steep, 1,700ft tall cliff face.  Access is difficult.