Saint Damien of Molokai: Difference between revisions

'''Saint Damien of Molokai''', born '''Jozef De Veuster''' on January 3, 1840, in the City of [[Tremelo]], [[Brabant]], [[Belgium]], was a missionary priest who devoted his life to leprosy patients in the isolated Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai, [[Hawaii]]. Joining the [[Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary]] in 1859 after training in a Seminary, he volunteered in 1873 to serve the Parish of Kalawao, a leprosy colony under the [[Diocese of Honolulu]]. Building churches and hospitals, he restored dignity to the afflicted using the [[Latin Rite]]. Contracting leprosy in 1884, he continued his work—caring for orphans and preaching—until his death on April 15, 1889, at 49. His selflessness, praised by figures like Robert Louis Stevenson, made him a global icon, akin to an [[Archbishop of Paris]] in moral stature.

Canonized on October 11, 2009, by [[Pope Benedict XVI]], Damien’s feast day, May 10, draws pilgrims to St. Damien Church in Kalaupapa, where his relics rest. Patron of leprosy patients, outcasts, and Hawaii, his miracles—posthumous healings—affirmed his place among Saints. His life, documented in Sacred Hearts archives, shows a priest who embraced the forsaken, his legacy enduring in Molokai’s restored community and worldwide devotion to the “leper priest.”

Jozef’s youth was marked by devotion; he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1859, training at a Seminary in Leuven. Ordained in the City of [[Honolulu]] in 1864 within the [[Diocese of Honolulu]], he served Hawaii’s Big Island, building chapels. In 1873, at 33, he volunteered for Molokai’s leprosy Parish, a lifelong mission.

Damien’s vocation emerged in 1859, a call to missionary life with the [[Religious order|Sacred Hearts Fathers]]. In Molokai from 1873, he lived for lepers—bathing wounds, burying the dead—his own leprosy no deterrent. His death in 1889 fulfilled this, a martyr of charity.

His vocation peaked in Kalaupapa, a [[Saint]] among the sick. Damien’s life was a total gift to Christ’s poor.

[[Saint]] Damien met his end on April 15, 1889, in Kalaupapa, Molokai, dying at 49 of leprosy complications. Weakened for years, he passed in his mission church, buried nearby—relics later split between Hawaii and [[Country|Belgium]]. His death awed the world.

Declared Venerable in 1977 by Pope Paul VI, his virtue affirmed after review.

Beatified on June 4, 1995, by Pope John Paul II in Koekelberg, [[Country|Belgium]], after a 1994 healing of a nun’s illness via prayers to Damien, verified by inquiry.

Canonized on October 11, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City, following a 2008 cure of a woman’s cancer after prayers at his shrine, sealing his place among [[Saints]].

[[Saint]] Damien of Molokai is patron of leprosy patients, outcasts, [[State/Administrative subdivision|Hawaii]], and people with HIV/AIDS.

The feast day of [[Saint]] Damien of Molokai is celebrated on May 10.

[[Saint]] Damien is venerated through prayers for the sick, centered at St. Damien Church in the [[Parish]] of Kalaupapa, where relics rest. With cassock or bandages, his cult thrives in [[State/Administrative subdivision|Hawaii]], his May 10 feast inspiring charity. His life, via letters, guides compassion for outcasts, rivaling a [[Bishop|Archbishop of Paris]] in impact.

* Letters from Molokai (archived by [[Religious order|Sacred Hearts Fathers]])