Damien of

On January 3rd 1840, in the town would not be able to take care of themselves as the Kingdom of , Anne-Catherine Wouters gave birth to her had hoped. Under these conditions, their easy-going and seventh child with her husbandJoannes Franciscus De good nature was replaced by drunkenness and lewd conduct. Veuster. Their child was a boy whom then named Jozeef De While the Bishop of , Louis Desire Veuster. While his older sisters Eugenie and Pauline became Maigret, wished to provide assistance to the inhabitants of nuns, and his older brother Auguste joined the Congregation Molokai, he did not want to force any priests to undertake of the Sacred Hearts of and Mary, Jozef was forced to the risk associated with going to the island. When he asked quit school at the age of 13 to work his family farm. His for volunteers, , along with four other priests, father would later send him to college to prepare him for a answered the call to minister to the lepers of Molokai. commercial profession, but at the age of 18, Jozef received The priests were intended to take turns assisting the a mission from the Redemptorists which lead him to discern inhabitants, and in May of 1873, at the age of 47, Father the calling to enter into a religious vocation. Damien was the first to arrive. When Father Damien arrived Jozef entered the Fathers of the Sacred Heart of at Kalaupapa, there were already 600 lepers present. Father Jesus and Mary at Louvain, where his brother Auguste was Damien worked to build a Church at Molokai and establish assigned. He became a novitiate taking the name Damien, the Parish of Saint . In addition to building the in honor of Saint Damien, a physician who was martyred in Church, he built a reservoir, homes, furniture, made coffins the 300’s. While he was not considered unintelligent, his and dug graves. He would spend his time tending to the superiors did not believe he would be a good candidate for lepers, dressing the ulcers which would develop on their skin the priesthood because of his lack of an education. During due to the disease. He would teach the lepers that despite his studied, Damien would pray daily in front of a picture of what the outside world thought of them, they were loved by Saint , the patron of , for his God. Father Damien’s work helped turn the colony around, intercessions and help in becoming a himself. and restore the good-nature they had previously had. At the Damien learned from his brother Auguste, and request of both Father Damien and the Lepers, Father his superiors permitted that he could be ordained a priest. Damien did not leave when his rotation in the colony had Roughly three years after he entered the novitiate, his brother ended. Auguste was meant to be sent to the island of Hawai’i as a Due to his work with the lepers, King missionary. Illness prevented Auguste from traveling to Kalakaua recognized him with the honor of “Knight Hawai’i, and Damien would be sent in his place. Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakaua.” When In March of 1864, Damien arrived at Honolulu, Princess Lydia Lili’uokalani visited the settlement to present , where he was ordained into the Priesthood at the him with the medal, she was distraught and heartbroken at Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. The following year, he the sight, and shared her experiences with Father Damien. would be assigned to a Mission in North Kohala, Hawai’i. While Father Damien may have accepted the medal, he At the time Damien began serving at several parishes, the never wore it. Kingdom of Hawai’i was struggling with a shortage of labor Due to the testimony of Princess Lili’uokalani, and a public health crisis. The natives had begun to contract Father Damien became internationally renown. American , , influenza, and the whooping protestants began to send large sums of money for the cough, which had been brought in by sailors, immigrants, missionary work, and the would send and foreign traders. These diseases were causing the food, medicine, clothing and other supplies to the settlement. Hawaiians to die by the thousands. After years of service, in 1884, while preparing to In the 1830’s or 1840’s had been brought to bathe, Father Damien accidentally stepped in scalding water, the Hawaiian Islands. Leprosy was thought to be highly causing his foot to blister, but he felt nothing. Father contagious and was at the time incurable. In 1865, the year Damien realized he had contracted the disease. Despite Damien had arrived in North Kohala, King Kamehameha V having leprosy himself now, he continued to work even and the Hawaiian Legislature passed the “Act to Prevent the harder for the people of Molokai. He continued for 5 more Spread of Leprosy.” This act forced the quarantine of lepers, years, when with an arm in a sling, a foot in bandaged, and requiring them to be moved to the Kalawao settlement on his leg dragging,he became bedridden in 1889. In April of island of Moloka’i which would eventually lead to the 1889, he made his last general confession, and died on the development of the Kalaupapa settlement. 15th of that month. He was buried under a pandanus tree The Royal Board began by providing the where he had slept his first night on the island, along with quarantines people with food and other supplies, but the the medal he had been awarded by the King of Hawai’i. He labor crisis did not allow them the men or resources to offer was canonized on October 11, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. proper health care on the island. Although it was not the He is the patron of those with leprosy, and his feast day is intent of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, the settlements became in May 10th. From 1866 to 1969, more than 8,000 Hawaiians effect penal colonies, where lepers would be separated and were sent to the island of Molokai. exiled from the rest of society. Due to their inability to care for themselves and the conditions at Molokai, the lepers