Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai,
SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster ( nl, Pater Damiaan or '; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889),
born Jozef De Veuster, was a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
from Belgium and member of the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary () abbreviated SS.CC., is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men priests and brothers. The congregation is also known as the Picpus because their firs ...
,
a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
religious institute. He was recognized for his ministry, which he led from 1873 until his death in 1889, in the
Kingdom of Hawaiʻi to people with
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
(Hansen's disease), who lived in government-mandated medical quarantine in a
settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
* Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fin ...
on the
Kalaupapa
Kalaupapa () is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai, within Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, the Hawaii legislature passed a law that resulted in the designation ...
Peninsula of
Molokai.
During this time, he taught the Catholic faith to the people of Hawaii. Father Damien also cared for the patients and established leaders within the community to build houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. He dressed residents' ulcers, built a reservoir, made coffins, dug graves, shared pipes, and ate
poi with them, providing both medical and emotional support.
After eleven years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the
leper colony, Father Damien contracted leprosy. He continued with his work despite the infection but finally succumbed to the disease on 15 April 1889. Father Damien also had tuberculosis which worsened his condition, but some believe that the reason he volunteered in the first place was due to his illness of tuberculosis.
Father Damien has been described as a "
martyr of charity
In the Catholic Church, a martyr of charity is someone who dies as a result of a charitable act or of administering Christian charity. While a martyr of the faith, which is what is usually meant by the word "martyr" (both in canon law and in lay t ...
".
Damien De Veuster is venerated as a
saint in the Catholic Church. In the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
and other Christian denominations, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for leprosy and outcasts. Father Damien Day, 15 April, the day of his death, is also a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii. Father Damien is the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of the
Diocese of Honolulu and of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
.
Father Damien was
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
on 11 October 2009.
Libert H. Boeynaems
Libert H. Boeynaems, formally Libert Hubert John Louis Boeynaems, SS.CC., (August 18, 1857 – May 13, 1926), was the fourth vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands — now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
...
, writing in the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
,'' calls him "the Apostle of the Lepers."
[Boeynaems, Libert. "Father Damien (Joseph de Veuster)." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 20 April 2020 Damien De Veuster's feast day is 10 May.
Early life
Father Damien was born Jozef ("Jef") De Veuster, the youngest of seven children and fourth son of the
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
corn merchant Joannes Franciscus ("Frans") De Veuster and his wife Anne-Catherine ("Cato") Wouters in the village of
Tremelo
Tremelo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Baal and Tremelo proper. On January 1, 2006, Tremelo had a total population of 13,725. The total area is 21.57& ...
in
Flemish Brabant in rural Belgium on 3 January 1840. His older sisters Eugénie and Pauline became nuns, and his older brother Auguste (Father Pamphile) joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus Fathers). Jozef was forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm. His father sent him to a college at Braine-le-Comte to prepare for a commercial profession, but as a result of a mission given by the
Redemptorists
The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
in 1858, Joseph decided to pursue a religious vocation.
[
Jozef entered the novitiate of the Fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary at Louvain and took in religion the name of Damien, presumably after the first Saint Damian, a fourth-century physician and martyr.] He was admitted to the religious profession on 7 Oct. 1860.
His superiors thought that he was not a good candidate for the priesthood because he lacked education. However, he was not considered unintelligent. Because he learned Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
well from his brother, his superiors decided to allow him to become a priest. During his religious studies, Damien prayed daily before a picture of St. Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...
, patron of missionaries, to be sent on a mission. Three years later when his brother Father Pamphile (Auguste) could not travel to Hawaiʻi as a missionary because of illness, Damien was allowed to take his place.
Mission in Hawaii
On 19 March 1864, Damien arrived at Honolulu Harbor on Oʻahu. He was ordained into the priesthood on 21 May 1864, at what is now the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (French: ''Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix''; Portuguese: ''Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz''; Hawaiian: ''Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui''; Latin: ''Basilicæ cathedralis Sanctæ Mariæ de Pac ...
.
In 1865 Damien was assigned to the Catholic Mission in North Kohala on the island of Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...
. While he was serving in several parishes on Oʻahu, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was struggling with a labor shortage and a public health crisis. Many of the Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawa ...
parishioners had high mortality rates due to infectious diseases such as leprosy (from which he later died), smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, cholera, influenza, syphilis, and whooping cough
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or t ...
, brought to the Hawaiian Islands by foreign traders, sailors and immigrants. Thousands of Hawaiians died of such diseases, to which they had no acquired immunity
Immunity may refer to:
Medicine
* Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease
* ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press
Biology
* Immune system
Engineering
* Radiofrequence immunity desc ...
.
It is believed that Chinese workers carried leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
(later known as Hansen's disease) to the islands in the 1830s and 1840s. At that time, leprosy was thought to be highly contagious and was incurable. In 1865, out of fear of this contagious disease, Hawaiian King Kamehameha V and the Hawaiian Legislature passed the "Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy." This law quarantined the lepers of Hawaii, requiring the most serious cases to be moved to a settlement colony of Kalawao on the eastern end of the Kalaupapa peninsula on the island of Molokai. Later the settlement of Kalaupapa
Kalaupapa () is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai, within Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, the Hawaii legislature passed a law that resulted in the designation ...
was developed. Kalawao County
Kalawao () is a location on the eastern side of the Kalaupapa Peninsula of the island of Molokai, in Hawaii, which was the site of Hawaii's leper colony between 1866 and the early 20th century. Thousands of people in total came to the island to ...
, where the two villages are located, is separated from the rest of Molokai by a steep mountain ridge. From 1866 through 1969, about 8,000 Hawaiians were sent to the Kalaupapa peninsula for medical quarantine.
The Royal Board of Health initially provided the quarantined people with food and other supplies, but it did not have the workforce and resources to offer proper health care.[ According to documents of that time, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi did not intend for the settlements to be penal colonies. Still, the Kingdom did not provide enough resources to support them.][ The Kingdom of Hawaii had planned for the lepers to be able to care for themselves and grow their crops. Still, due to the effects of leprosy and the peninsula's local environmental conditions, this was impractical.
By 1868, according to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1911), "Drunken and lewd conduct prevailed. The easy-going, good-natured people seemed wholly changed."]
Mission on Molokai
While Bishop Louis Désiré Maigret, the vicar apostolic
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of the Honolulu diocese, believed that the lepers needed a Catholic priest to assist them, he realized that this assignment had high risk. He did not want to send any one person "in the name of obedience." After much prayer, four priests volunteered to go, among them Father Damien. The bishop planned for the volunteers to take turns in rotation assisting the inhabitants.
On 10 May 1873, the first volunteer, Father Damien, arrived at the isolated settlement at Kalaupapa, where there were then 600 lepers,[ and was presented by Bishop Louis Maigret. At his arrival, he spoke to the assembled lepers 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."
Damien worked with them to build a church and establish the Parish of Saint ]Philomena
Philomena ( el, Ἁγία Φιλομένα), also known as Saint Philomena or ''Philomena of Rome'' was a young virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three tiles enclosing the tomb bore ...
. In addition to serving as a priest, he dressed residents' ulcers, built a reservoir, built homes and furniture, made coffins, and dug graves. Six months after his arrival at Kalawao, he wrote to his brother, Pamphile, in Europe: "...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
."
During this time, Father Damien cared for the lepers and established leaders within the community to improve the state of living. Father Damien aided the colony by teaching, painting houses, organizing farms, and organizing the construction of chapels, roads, hospitals, and churches. He also dressed residents, dug graves, built coffins, ate food by hand with lepers, shared pipes with them, and lived with the lepers as equals. Father Damien also served as a priest during this time and spread the Catholic faith to the lepers; it is said that Father Damien told the lepers that despite what the outside world thought of them, they were always precious in the eyes of God.
Some historians believed that Father Damien was a catalyst for a turning point for the community. Under his leadership, basic laws were enforced, shacks were upgraded and improved as painted houses, working farms were organized, and schools were established. At his request and of the lepers, Father Damien remained on Molokai.[ Many such accounts, however, overlook the roles of superintendents who were Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian. Pennie Moblo states that until the late 20th century, most historical reports of Damien's ministry revealed biases of Europeans and Americans, and nearly completely discounted the roles of the native residents on Molokai.][Moblo, "Blessed Damien of Molokai: Critical Analysis of Contemporary Myth"](_blank)
''Ethnohistory'' Vol. 44, No. 4 (Autumn, 1997) However, it could be asserted that Pennie Moblo does not account for the separation of civil authorities and religious authorities. As was customary in the time period, Fr. Damien's work was reported to Europeans and Americans in order to raise funds for the mission. How the colony was governed would be outside the scope of the written accounts and not important to raise funds for the charitable works of Father Damien.
Recognition during his lifetime
King David Kalākaua bestowed on Damien the honor of "Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalākaua
The Royal Order of Kalākaua I (''Kalākaua I e Hookanaka'') was instituted on 28 September 1874 by King Kalākaua I to commemorate his accession to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi on 12 February 1874.
Grades
The Order was awarded in four ...
." When Crown Princess Lydia Liliuokalani visited the settlement to present the medal, she was reported as having been too distraught and heartbroken at the sight of the residents to read her speech. The princess shared her experience, acclaiming Damien's efforts. Consequently, Damien became internationally known in the United States and Europe. American Protestants raised large sums of money for the missionary's work. The Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
sent food, medicine, clothing, and supplies to the settlement. It is believed that Damien never wore the royal medal, although it was placed by his side at his funeral.
Illness and death
Father Damien worked for 16 years in Hawaii, providing comfort to the lepers of Kalaupapa. Not only did he give the people faith, he also built homes for them and treated them with his medical expertise. He prayed at the cemetery of the deceased and comforted the dying at their bedsides.
In December 1884, while he was preparing to bathe, Damien inadvertently put his foot into scalding water, causing his skin to blister. He felt nothing and realized that he had contracted leprosy after working in the colony for 11 years. This was a common way for people to discover that they had been infected with leprosy. Despite his illness, Damien worked even harder.
In 1885, Masanao Goto, a Japanese leprologist, came to Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
and treated Damien. He believed that leprosy was caused by a diminution of the blood. His treatment consisted of nourishing foods, moderate exercise, frequent friction to the benumbed parts, special ointments, and medical baths. The treatments relieved some of the symptoms and they were very popular with the Hawaiian patients as a result. Damien had faith in the treatments and said that he only wanted to be treated by Goto, who eventually became a good friend of Father Damien.
Despite the fact that the illness was slowing his body down, Damien engaged in a flurry of activities during his last years. With his remaining time, he tried to advance and complete as many projects as possible. While he was continuing to spread the Catholic Faith and aid the lepers during their treatments, Damien completed several building projects and improved orphanages. Four volunteers arrived at Kalaupapa to help the ailing missionary: a Belgian priest, Louis Lambert Conrardy; a soldier, Joseph Dutton
Joseph Dutton (April 27, 1843 – March 26, 1931) was a Civil War veteran and Union Army lieutenant, who converted to Catholicism and later worked as a missionary with Father Damien.
Biography
He was born Ira Barnes Dutton in Stowe, Vermont, so ...
(an American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
veteran who left behind a marriage which had been broken by his alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
); a male nurse from Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, James Sinnett; and Mother (now Saint) Marianne Cope
Marianne Cope, also known as Saint Marianne of Molokai, (January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918) was a German-born American religious sister who was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York, and founding leader of its St. Jose ...
, who had been the head of the Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
-run St Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, New York. Conrardy took up Damien's pastoral duties. Cope organized a working hospital. Dutton attended to the construction and maintenance of the community's buildings. Sinnett nursed Damien during the last phases of his illness.
With an arm in a sling, with a foot in bandages, and with his leg dragging, Damien knew that his death was near. He was bedridden on 23 March 1889, and on 30 March, he made a general confession. Damien died of leprosy at 8:00 a.m. on 15 April 1889, at the age of 49. The next day, after the Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
was said by Father Moellers at St. Philomena's, the whole settlement followed the funeral cortège to the cemetery. Damien was laid to rest under the same pandanus tree where he first slept upon his arrival on Molokai.
In January 1936, at the request of King Leopold III of Belgium and the Belgian government
The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...
, Damien's body was returned to his native land in Belgium. It was transported aboard the Belgian ship ''Mercator __NOTOC__
Mercator (Latin for "merchant") may refer to:
People
* Marius Mercator (c. 390–451), a Catholic ecclesiastical writer
* Arnold Mercator, a 16th-century cartographer
* Gerardus Mercator, a 16th-century cartographer
** Mercator 1569 ...
.'' Damien was buried in Leuven, the historic university city which is close to the village where he was born. After Damien's beatification in June 1995, the remains of his right hand were returned to Hawaii and re-interred in his original grave on Molokai.
Commentary after his death
Father Damien had become internationally known before his death, because he was seen as a symbolic Christian figure who spent his life caring for the afflicted natives. His superiors thought that Damien lacked education and finesse but they considered him to be "an earnest peasant hard at work in his own way for God." News of his death on 15 April was quickly carried across the globe by the modern communications of the time, by steamship to Honolulu and California, telegraph to the East Coast of the United States, and cable to England, reaching London on 11 May. Following an outpouring of praise for his work, other voices began to be heard in Hawaii.
Representatives of the Congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
and Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
churches in Hawaii criticized his approach. Reverend Charles McEwen Hyde, a Presbyterian minister in Honolulu, wrote to his fellow pastor Reverend H. B. Gage of San Francisco in August. Hyde referred to Father Damien as "a coarse, dirty man," who contracted leprosy due to "carelessness." Hyde said that Damien was mistakenly being given credit for reforms which had actually been implemented by the Board of Health. Without consulting Hyde, Gage had the letter published in a San Francisco newspaper, generating comment and controversy in the US and Hawaii. The white people of the period consistently overlooked the role which had been played by the Hawaiians themselves, among whom were several who had prominent leadership positions on the island.
Later in 1889, the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
and his family arrived in Hawaii for an extended stay. He had tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, a disease which was also considered incurable, and he was seeking some relief for it. Moved by Damien's story, he became interested in the priest's controversy and went to Molokai for eight days and seven nights. Stevenson wanted to learn more about Damien at the place where he had worked. He spoke with residents of various religious backgrounds in order to learn more about Damien's work. Based on his conversations and observations, he wrote an open letter
An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
to Hyde in which he addressed the minister's criticisms and he had it printed at his own expense. Stevenson's letter became the most famous account of Damien, featuring him in the role of a European who was aiding a benighted native people.[Daws (1984), ''Holy Man: Father Damien'', p. 14]
In his "6,000-word polemic," Stevenson praised Damien extensively, writing to Hyde:
Stevenson referred to his journal entries in his letter:
Since then, historians and ethnologists
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...
have also studied Damien's work and residents' lives on Molokai. For example, Pennie Moblo, in researching the myth and the controversy surrounding the priest, has concluded they did not develop from the religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, but instead from changes in relationships on Hawaii between and among the royalty, European-American planters, missionaries, and native Hawaiians in the years leading up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom
The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-aborig ...
and the U.S. takeover.[Pennie Moblo, "Blessed Damien of Moloka'i: The Critical Analysis of Contemporary Myth"](_blank)
''Ethnohistory'' Vol. 44, No. 4 (Autumn, 1997), pp. 691–726. Duke University Press, DOI: 10.2307/482885 During this period, Damien had J.K. Kahuila, a Hawaiian Protestant minister in his care, put in irons and deported to Oahu because he believed the man was too rebellious. Kahuila got a lawyer and demanded an investigation of Damien. Moblo concludes that in most 19th- and 20th-century accounts, "the focus on Damien eclipses the active role played by Hawaiians and preserves a colonially biased history."
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
said that Father Damien's work had inspired his social campaigns in India, leading to the independence of his people and the securing of aid for needy Indians. Gandhi was quoted in T.N. Jagadisan's 1965 publication ''Mahatma Gandhi Answers the Challenge of Leprosy'':
Canonization
In 1977, Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
declared Father Damien to be venerable
The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism.
Christianity
Cathol ...
. On 4 June 1995, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
beatified him and gave him his official spiritual title of Blessed. On 20 December 1999, Jorge Medina Estévez
Jorge Medina Barra (; 24 April 1968 – 23 November 2022) was a Bolivian civil rights activist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz, representing its special indigenous circumscription from 2010 to 2015. ...
, Prefect of the , confirmed the November 1999 decision of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...
to place Blessed Damien on the liturgical calendar
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which ...
with the rank of an optional memorial. Father Damien was canonized on 11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
. His feast day is celebrated on 10 May. In Hawaii, it is celebrated on the day of his death, 15 April.
Two miracles
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
have been attributed to Father Damien's posthumous intercession. On 13 June 1992, Pope John Paul II approved the cure of a nun in France in 1895 as a miracle attributed to Venerable Damien's intercession
Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or Intercession of saints, asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others.
The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Saint Timothy, Timothy sp ...
. In that case, Sister Simplicia Hue began a novena
A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...
to Father Damien as she lay dying of a lingering intestinal illness. It is stated that the pain and symptoms of the illness disappeared overnight.
In the second case, Audrey Toguchi, a Hawaiian woman who suffered from a rare form of cancer, had remission after having prayed at the grave of Father Damien on Molokai. There was no medical explanation, as her prognosis was terminal. In 1997, Toguchi was diagnosed with liposarcoma
Liposarcomas are the most common subtype of soft tissue sarcomas, accounting for at least 20% of all sarcomas in adults. Soft tissue sarcomas are rare neoplasms with over 150 different histological subtypes or forms. Liposarcomas arise from the pr ...
, a cancer that arises in fat cells. She underwent surgery a year later and a tumor was removed, but the cancer metastasized to her lungs. Her physician, Dr. Walter Chang, told her, "Nobody has ever survived this cancer. It's going to take you." Toguchi was still alive in 2016.
In April 2008, the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
accepted the two cures as evidence of Father Damien's sanctity. On 2 June 2008, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...
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 Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
José Saraiva Martins
José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F. GCC (born 6 January 1932) is a Portuguese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1998 to 2008.
Born in Gagos de Jarmelo in Guarda, Portugal, to ...
on 3 July 2008, with the ceremony taking place in Rome and celebrations in Belgium and Hawaii. On 21 February 2009, the Vatican announced that Father Damien would be canonized. The ceremony took place in Rome on Rosary Sunday, 11 October 2009, in the presence of King Albert II of the Belgians and Queen Paola
Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...
as well as the Belgian Prime Minister
german: Premierminister von Belgien
, insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg
, insigniasize = 100px
, insigniacaption = Coat of arms
, insigniaalt =
, flag = Government ...
, Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician, who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009 and then as the first permanent president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014.
A politicia ...
, and several cabinet ministers,[ completing the process of canonization. In Washington, D.C., President ]Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
affirmed his deep admiration for St. Damien, saying that he gave voice to the voiceless and dignity to the sick. Four other individuals were canonized with Father Damien at the same ceremony: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński
Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński (1 November 1822 in Voiutyn, now Ukraine – 17 September 1895 in Kraków) was a professor of the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy, Archbishop of Warsaw in 1862-1883 (exiled by Tsar Alexander II to Y ...
, Sister Jeanne Jugan
Jeanne Jugan (October 25, 1792 – August 29, 1879), also known as Sister Mary of the Cross, L.S.P., was a French woman who became known for the dedication of her life to the neediest of the elderly poor. Her service resulted in the establishment ...
, Father Francisco Coll Guitart
Francisco Coll Guitart (Francesc Coll i Guitart in Catalan), (18 May 1812 – 2 April 1875) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest of the Order of Preachers (Dominican Order) and founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgi ...
and Rafael Arnáiz Barón
Rafael may refer to:
* Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin
* Rafael, California
* Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology
* Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane
Fiction
* ''R ...
.
Damien is honored, together with Marianne Cope
Marianne Cope, also known as Saint Marianne of Molokai, (January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918) was a German-born American religious sister who was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York, and founding leader of its St. Jose ...
, with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on 15 April.
In arts and media
Films
*Director David Miller made a short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
of Father Damien's life entitled ''The Great Heart
''The Great Heart'' is a 1938 American short film about the life of Father Damien and is directed by David Miller. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 11th Academy Awards in 1938 for Best Short Subject (One-Reel).
Cast
* Carey Wils ...
'' (1938), released by MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
.
*The first full-length film on Father Damien was ''Molokai'' (1959), a Spanish production directed by Luis Lucia
Luis Lucia Mingarro (24 May 1914, in Valencia – 12 March 1984, in Madrid) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter.
His father, Luis Lucia, was the Spanish minister of communications in 1935. He studied Law and was the attorney of CI ...
with Javier Escrivá, Roberto Camardiel
Roberto Camardiel Escudero (29 November 1917, in Alagón, Zaragoza – 15 June 1989, in Zaragoza) was a Spanish theatre director and actor.
He appeared in ''Culpables'' and ''Bajo el cielo andaluz'' (1960), both directed by Arturo Ruiz-Castill ...
, and Gérard Tichy
Gerard Tichy (also Gérard Tichy, Gerhard Tichi and Gerardo Tichy, 11 March 1920 – 11 April 1992) was a Spanish actor of German descent, who appeared in numerous movies, including several international productions. He was born in Weißenfels ...
playing the main roles.
*Ken Howard
Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...
had the title role in the television film ''Father Damien: The Leper Priest'' (1980); he replaced David Janssen
David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...
, who died suddenly after several days of shooting.
*Stephanie J. Castillo's documentary ''Simple Courage'' (1992) explores Damien and his work, drawing parallels between the treatment of persons who have leprosy and the stigma which is associated with persons who have HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
. "Simple Courage" was rewarded an EMMY Award in 1993.
*The Belgian film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
Tharsi Vanhuysse produced and Paul Cox directed the film '' Molokai: The Story of Father Damien'' (1999) with David Wenham
David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in ''Van Helsing'', Dilios in ''300'' and ...
as Damien.
*Interviews of former residents are featured in the documentary ''The Soul of Kalaupapa: Voices of Exile'' (2011). It focuses on the efforts of Belgian-born Father Damien in the 19th century and the efforts of Jonatana Napela
Jonatana Napela or Jonathan Hawaii Napela (first name also spelled Iohatana, full name ''Napelakapuonamahanaonaleleonalani'') (September 11, 1813 – August 6, 1879) was one of the earliest Hawaiian converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter ...
, a Hawaiian LDS
LDS may refer to:
Organizations
* LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion
* Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups
**The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...
convert who works with persons with leprosy in Kalaupapa and collaborates on ecumenical efforts.
*Splendor Producciones, an Argentinian amateur film-making group, produced a movie about Father Damien's full life which is titled '' Corazón de Héroe: Padre Damián de Veuster'' (2021)
Literature
*Screenwriter and film director John Farrow
John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...
wrote the biography ''Damien the Leper'' (1937). In 1939, RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
purchased the book for a feature film titled ''Father Damien'', to be directed by Farrow and star Joseph Calleia
Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television.
After serving in the British Transport ...
. The project was not realized.
*The poetic dramatization ''Father Damien'' (1938) was written by Edward Snelson, later Joint Secretary to the Government of India (1947), KBE, and dedicated 'To G.,' the actress Greer Garson, to whom he had been married in 1933.
*The one-person play ''Damien
Damien is a given name and less frequently a surname.
The name is a variation of Damian (given name), Damian which comes from the Greek ''Damianos''. This form originates from the Greek derived from the Greek word δαμάζω (damazō), "(I) con ...
'' by Aldyth Morris was broadcast nationally on PBS in the United States in 1978 and again in 1986 on "American Playhouse." The broadcast received several recognitions, including a Peabody Award.
*The 2016 novel ''God Made Us Monsters'' by William Neary explores Father Damien's rise to sainthood.
Monuments and statues
*The Father Damien Statue
The ''Father Damien'' Statue, also called the ''Saint Damien of Moloka''i Statue, is the centerpiece of the entrance to the Hawaii State Capitol and the Hawaii State Legislature in Honolulu, Hawaii. A second bronze cast is displayed in the Natio ...
on the steps of the State Capitol Building honors him, and a replica is displayed in the National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...
in the United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
. Statues in memory of Damien can be found in many Belgian cathedrals, such as the Tournai Cathedral
The Tournai Cathedral, or Cathedral of Our Lady (french: Notre-Dame de Tournai, nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik), is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia's major ...
, St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent
Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral ( nl, Sint Baafskathedraal), is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in Ghent, Belgium. The 89-meter-tall Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of ...
, and St Martin's Cathedral, Ypres.
*A monument stands in front of St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Honaunau (Hawaii) and is often decorated with Leis.
Legacy and honors
In 2005, Damien was honored with the title of ''De Grootste Belg
''De Grootste Belg'' (The Greatest Belgian) was a 2005 vote conducted by Belgian public TV broadcaster Canvas, public radio broadcaster Radio 1, and newspaper ''De Standaard'', to determine who is the Greatest Belgian of all time. It could be ...
'', chosen as "The Greatest Belgian" throughout that country's history, in polling conducted by the Flemish public broadcasting service, VRT. He ranked third on ''Le plus grand Belge
''Les plus grands Belges'' ( French for "The Greatest Belgians"), is a television show that aired in 2005 on the Belgian French-speaking public channel RTBF. In the program the audience could vote for the greatest Belgian by using the website, se ...
'' ("The Greatest Belgian") in a poll by the French-speaking public channel RTBF
The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...
.
In 1952, the Picpus Fathers (SS .CC) opened th
Damien Museum
(Dutch: Damiaanmuseum ) in Tremelo, Belgium, in the house where Damien was born and grew up. In 2017 the museum was completely renovated.
With canonization highlighting his ministry to persons with leprosy, Father Damien in his work has been cited as an example of how society should minister to HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
patients. On the occasion of Damien's canonization, President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
stated, "In our own time, as millions around the world suffer from disease, especially the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, we should draw on the example of Father Damien’s resolve in answering the urgent call to heal and care for the sick." Several clinics and centers nationwide catering to HIV/AIDS patients bear his name. There is a chapel named for him and dedicated to people with HIV/AIDS, in St. Thomas the Apostle Hollywood, an Episcopal parish.
The Damien The Leper Society is among charities named after him that work to treat and control leprosy. Damien House, Ireland, is a centre for "peace for families and individuals affected by bereavement, stress, violence, and other difficulties with particular attention to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
". Saint Damien Advocates is a religious freedom organization that says it wants to carry on Father Damien's work with orphans and others.
Schools named after him include Damien High School
Damien High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in La Verne, in the U.S. state of California named for Saint Damien of Molokai. The school had its first graduating class in 1963. Each of Damien's freshmen classes draws from an avera ...
in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, Saint Damien Elementary School in Calgary, Canada, and Damien Memorial School in Hawaii. The village of Saint-Damien, Quebec
Saint-Damien (formerly named Saint-Damien-de-Brandon) is a parish municipality of 2,393 inhabitants in Quebec, Canada. It is located in Matawinie Regional County Municipality in the Lanaudière region.
History
The town was founded the 6 Septem ...
, is also named after him. Churches worldwide are named after him.
St. Damien of Molokai Catholic Church in Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. The population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the fifth largest cit ...
, dedicated in 2010, is believed to have been the first Roman Catholic church in the continental United States to be named for Saint Damien after his canonization. A Traditional Latin Mass church, it is operated by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and was authorized in 2010 by Eusebius J. Beltran, Archbishop of Oklahoma City. Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit.
Founde ...
(in the Catholic archdiocese of Detroit) has a St. Damien parish.
Marianne of Molokaʻi was canonized in 2012.
See also
*Kalaupapa National Historical Park
Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, on the island of Molokai. Coterminous with the boundaries of Kalawao County and primarily on Kalaupapa peninsula, it was established by ...
* American Catholic Servants of God, Venerables, Beatified, and Saints
*List of American saints and beatified people
This list of American candidates for sainthood includes not only saints of the Catholic Church but also those who are not yet recognized as saints but as beati, venerabili, servants of God or candidates for sainthood and who are significant ...
* Father Damien, patron saint archive
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
*Farrow, John
''Damien the Leper''
(first edition 1937; latest edition 1998)
*
*
*
*
External links
Saint Damien of Molokai
Kalaupapa National Historic Park
– about the human and natural community of Father Damien's work
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Damien, Father
Roman Catholic missionaries in Hawaii
People from Molokai
1840 births
1889 deaths
Deaths from leprosy
Anglican saints
Beatifications by Pope John Paul II
Belgian humanitarians
Flemish priests
Hawaii Catholic priests
Belgian Roman Catholic missionaries
Belgian Roman Catholic saints
People from Kalawao County, Hawaii
People from Tremelo
Picpus Fathers
Recipients of the Royal Order of Kalākaua
Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu
19th-century Christian saints
19th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests
Canonizations by Pope Benedict XVI
Superintendents of Kalaupapa
Belgian emigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom