The ''Father Damien'' Statue, also called the ''Saint Damien of Moloka''i Statue, is the centerpiece of the entrance to the

Hawaii State Capitol The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of the U.S. state of Hawaii. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state. The Hawaii State Legislature—com ...

and the Hawaii State Legislature in

Honolulu, Hawaii 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 o ...

. A second bronze cast 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 ...

, along with the ''Kamehameha'' Statue. The landmark memorializes the famous Hawaii Catholic Church priest from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

who sacrificed his life for the

lepers 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 dama ...

of the island of Molokai.

Father Damien 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 priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sac ...

is considered one of the preeminent heroes 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 ...

, and 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 ...

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 October 11, 2009. Cast in bronze, the statue depicts

in his later years after being diagnosed with the disease of those he attended. Much attention was given to the recreation of the disfiguring scars on the priest's face and his arm hanging from a sling.

Marisol Escobar

Sixty-six artists bid for the commissioned project. Only seven were selected to create models to be reviewed by the Hawaii State Statuary Hall Commission.

Marisol Escobar Marisol Escobar (May 22, 1930 – April 30, 2016), otherwise known simply as Marisol, was a Venezuelan-American sculptor born in Paris, who lived and worked in New York City. She became world-famous in the mid-1960s, but lapsed into relative obsc ...

, a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

sculptor, won the bid. Commission members favored the contemporary feel and look of the Escobar design as opposed to the classical representations of Father Damien that others submitted. Her statue was based on a photo she saw of him near the end of his life, which is why he is wearing glasses and has his arm is in a sling. Taking into consideration of Father Damien's work as a carpenter, Escobar created her initial model in wood. She made another model in

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

from which the bronze cast would be created. Unfortunately, the plaster model was broken during shipping to the foundry in Viareggio, Italy. A second plaster model was lost during shipment. Escobar finally sent a wax mold to the foundry. Coincidentally, the other most sacred of statues in Hawaii, the ''Kamehameha'' Statue commissioned by King David Kalākaua, was also lost during travel (but later recovered).

Father Damien Day

The official unveiling of the ''Father Damien'' Statue took place in the United States Capitol Rotunda on Father Damien Day, April 15, 1969 alongside a reproduction of the ''Kamehameha'' Statue. Hawaii celebrates Father Damien Day annually, created by an act of the Hawaii State Legislature. On that day, the statue in Honolulu is ceremoniously draped in leis followed by solemn song and prayer. In

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Father Damien is the spiritual patron of the outcast and those afflicted with AIDS and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

Other statues

Other statues of Father Damien are located in the

as well as in

, in the cities of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Leuven and Tremelo, his place of birth.

References

External links

* {{coord, 21, 18, 27.72, N, 157, 51, 24.99, W, type:landmark_region:US, display=title 1969 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Hawaii Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C. Buildings and structures in Honolulu Monuments and memorials in Hawaii Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. National Statuary Hall Collection Outdoor sculptures in Hawaii Sculptures of men in Hawaii Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C. Statues in Hawaii Symbols of Hawaii Cultural depictions of Father Damien Statues of activists Statues of religious leaders