At 10:00pm last night I was in front of my television watching the live telecast of the canonization of Father Damien. It was a beautiful and solemn event, and one greatly anticipated by the Catholic population of Hawai’i. Father (now Saint) Damien is beloved out here for his work with patients afflicted with leprosy on Molokai in the 1800s.
I think the only institution which can compete with the Catholic Church for ceremony is the British monarchy.