Father Damien
Damien of Molokai | |
|---|---|
A photograph of Father Damien taken shortly before his death | |
| Religious Priest and Missionary | |
| Born | 3 January 1840 Tremelo, Brabant, Kingdom of Belgium |
| Died | 15 April 1889 (aged 49) Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi, Kingdom of Hawaii |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, some churches of Anglican Communion; individual Lutheran Churches |
| Beatified | 4 June 1995, Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Koekelberg), Brussels, by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 11 October 2009, Vatican City, by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Major shrine | Leuven, Belgium (bodily relics) Molokaʻi, Hawaii (relics of his hand) |
| Feast | 10 May (Catholic Church; obligatory in Hawaii, option in the rest of the United States); 15 April (Episcopal Church of the United States) |
| Patronage | People with Leprosy |
Signature of Father Damien | |
Damien De Veuster SSCC, popularly known as Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai (Dutch: Pater Damiaan or Heilige Damiaan van Molokai; born Jozef De Veuster; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Belgian Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He ministered to a leper colony in Molokaʻi, Kingdom of Hawaii, from 1873 until his death in 1889.
De Veuster taught the Catholic faith to the people of Hawaii. He also cared for leprosy 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 11 years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, De Veuster contracted leprosy. He continued with his work despite the infection but finally succumbed to the disease on 15 April 1889. He also had tuberculosis, which worsened his condition, but some believe the reason he volunteered in the first place was due to tuberculosis.
De Veuster has been described as a "martyr of charity". De Veuster is considered the spiritual patron for lepers and outcasts. Father Damien Day, 15 April, the day of his death, is also a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii. De Veuster is the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii.
De Veuster was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009. Libert H. Boeynaems, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, calls him "the Apostle of the Lepers." De Veuster's feast day is 10 May.