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Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai SSCC or Saint Damien De Veuster (Dutch: Pater Damiaan or Heilige Damiaan van Molokai; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious institute.
St. Damien of Molokai (born January 3, 1840, Tremelo, Belgium—died April 15, 1889, Molokai, Hawaii [U.S.]; canonized October 11, 2009; feast day May 10) was a Belgian priest who devoted his life to missionary work among the Hawaiian lepers and became a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
Father Damien is famous throughout the world for his dedication and devotion to caring for the spiritual and physical needs of victims of leprosy (now referred to as Hansen's disease) in Hawai`i that were separated from their families from 1866 to 1969 on the remote Kalaupapa peninsula on the island of Moloka`i.
Oct 10, 2009 · “Honoring Father Damien” Molokai’s beloved priest dedicated his life to helping many people throughout the Hawaiian Islands. In October 2009, he was officially recognized as Hawaii’s first canonized saint.
Father Damien died on April 15, 1889, having served sixteen years among the patients with leprosy. His mortal remains were transferred to Belgium in 1936, where he was interred in the crypt of Saint Anthony's Chapel, the Church of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary at Louvain.
Having made a general confession to a visiting priest, Father Damien died of leprosy at 8am on April 15, 1889. He was 49 years old. The next day, a Requiem Mass was offered at the church the dead priest had built.
May 9, 2022 · In 1967, the French journalist and humanitarian Raoul Follereau presented the pope with a petition signed by almost 33,000 leprosy patients, calling for the beatification of Father Damien.
Father Damien, also known as Blessed Damien of Molokai (January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889), was a Roman Catholic missionary priest from Belgium who is most noted for caring and ministering to people with leprosy. He spent much of his life working with lepers in Hawaii, who were forced by government-sanctioned medical segregation to live on the ...
Jan 4, 2024 · Father Damien, also known as Saint Damien of Molokai, was a remarkable priest whose life was dedicated to serving the most marginalized and forgotten individuals in society. His legacy is one of compassion, selflessness, and unwavering devotion to the suffering.
Read more about this incredible priest in The Spirit of Father Damien. Drawing from Fr. Damien’s own correspondence and the Vatican archives, author Jan de Volder presents an accurate and vivid portrait of a priest who became another Christ to those he served.
