MOLOKAI SCOOTER RENTALS

MOLOKAI HISTORY

Father Damien

Blessed Damien de Veuster (January 3, 1840 - April 15, 1889), born Jozef de Veuster and also known as Blessed Damien of Molokai, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order.

Father Damien is known for his love of and ministering to people with what was then widely known as leprosy, forced by government-sanctioned medical quarantine, living on the island of Molokai in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He eventually contracted the disease himself, and is widely considered a "martyr of charity". In the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, as well as other denominations of Christianity, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for Hansen's Disease, HIV and AIDS patients as well as outcasts. As the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii, Father Damien Day is celebrated statewide on April 15. Upon his beatification by Pope John Paul II in Rome on June 4, 1995, Blessed Damien was granted a memorial feast day, which is celebrated on May 10.

Damien was born Jozef ("Jef") de Veuster, the seventh child of the corn merchant Frans de Veuster and his wife Cato Wouters in the village of Tremelo in Flemish Brabant. He attended college at Braine-le-Comte, then entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Leuven, taking the name of Damianus (Damiaan in Dutch) in his first vows, probably after Saint Damian. Following in his brother's footsteps, Damien became a Picpus Brother on October 7, 1860. His brother could not fulfill his dream of traveling overseas to actively participate in missionary work. Damien took up his brother's dream as his own and went in his place on a mission abroad.

On March 19, 1864, Father Damien landed at Honolulu Harbor in downtown Honolulu as a missionary. There, Damien was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1864 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, a church established by his religious order. He served in several parishes on the island of Oahu just as the Kingdom of Hawaii faced a public health crisis.

The Native Hawaiians became afflicted by diseases inadvertently introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by foreign traders and sailors. Thousands died of influenza, syphilis and other ailments which had never before affected Hawaiians. This included the plight of leprosy, today called Hansen's disease. Fearful of its spread, King Kamehameha V quarantined the lepers of the kingdom and moved them to a settlement colony on the north side of the island of Molokai. The Royal Board of Health provided them with supplies and food but did not yet have the resources to offer proper healthcare. In 1865, Father Damien was assigned to the Catholic Mission in North Kohala on the island of Hawaii. While Monsignor Louis Maigret, vicar apostolic, believed that the lepers at the very least needed a priest to minister to their needs, he realized that this assignment could potentially be a death sentence. After prayerful thought, Damien asked Monsignor Maigret for permission to go to Molokai.

On May 10, 1873, Father Damien arrived at the secluded settlement at Kalaupapa. Bishop Maigret presented Damien to the colonists as "one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you." The settlement was surrounded by an impregnable mountain ridge. There were 816 lepers living at Kalaupapa. Damien's first course of action was to build a church and establish the Parish of Saint Philomena.

Historians working agree that Damien was the only one in a position to provide comfort for the people of Kalaupapa. His role was not limited to being a priest; he took on the role of doctor as well. He dressed ulcers, built homes and beds. Damien even built coffins and dug graves.

In proceedings for sainthood sociologists noted that Damien was sent to a lawless "colony of death" where people were forced to fight each other to survive. The kingdom didn't plan the settlement to be in such disarray but the government's neglect in providing much needed resources and medical help created the chaos. Damien's arrival is seen as a turning point for the community. Under his leadership, basic laws were enforced, shacks became painted houses, working farms were organized and schools were erected.

His symbols are a tree and a dove.

As indicated in his diaries, in December 1884 Damien went about his evening ritual of soaking his feet in boiling water. He could not feel the heat; he had contracted leprosy. Despite this discovery, residents say that Damien worked vigorously to build as many homes as he could and planned for the continuation of the programs he created after he was gone.

With the flurry of activity, four strangers came to Kalaupapa in search of Damien to help the ailing missionary. Louis Lambert Conrardy was a Belgian priest. Mother Marianne Cope was Superior of the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse. Joseph Dutton was an American Civil War soldier who left behind a marriage broken because of alcoholism. James Sinnett was a nurse from Chicago. Conrardy took up pastoral duties while Cope organized a working hospital. Dutton attended to the construction and maintenance of the community's buildings. Sinnett nursed Damien in the last phases of the disease, closing his eyes upon Father Damien's death at the age of 49 from leprosy. He was originally buried on Molokai, but in 1936, the Belgian government asked for the return of his body, which is now buried in Leuven, a city close to the village where he was born.

King David Kalakaua bestowed on Damien the honor Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakaua. When Princess Lydia Liliuokalani visited the settlement to present the medal, she was reported as having been too distraught and heartbroken to read her speech. The princess shared her experience with the world and publicly acclaimed Damien's efforts. Consequently, Damien's name was spread across the United States and Europe. American Protestants raised large sums of money for the missionary. The Church of England sent food, medicine, clothing and supplies. It is believed that Damien never wore the medal given to him.

On June 4, 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified Father Damien and gave him his official spiritual title of Blessed. His feast Day is celebrated on May 10. In Hawaii, it is celebrated on the day of his death, April 15.

In April of 2008, The Holy See ruled that Father Damien was indeed responsible for two miracles attributed to him. On June 2, 2008, The Congregation of the Causes of Saints at the Vatican voted to recommend raising Father Damien of Molokai to sainthood. The decree that officially notes and verifies the miracle needed for canonization was promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI and Jose Cardinal Saraiva Martins on Thursday, July 3, 2008, with the ceremony taking place in Rome, with celebrations in Belgium and Hawaii.