Tent-like with a long, slanting roof, like hands in prayer, this church was raised in the Ká Hó leper colony in 1966. It was built for use by the female leprosy patients staying at the leprosarium, along with their families and caretakers. Italian architect Oseo Acconci designed the simple and graceful structure. The sturdy wooden door has planks echoing the angularity of the roof and the bell tower. The bronze crucifix was by another Italian, sculptor Francisco Messima.
In the courtyard are statues of Our Lady and St Michael the Archangel, and a grotto of the Madonna.
The church is the newest addition to a village built for female leprosy patients that existed from the 1930s to the late 1990s. In 1963, a Salesian priest, originally from Sicily, came here, and improved conditions in the colony. The church and the restored colonial-style houses of the former leprosarium are reopening in phases.
