January 3, 1840, was the birthday of Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium. Joseph was the son of farmer. He and his brother were both training to be missionaries and Joseph's brother was assigned to go to the South Sea Islands. When his brother became ill, Joseph insisted on taking his brother's place as a missionary. He was ordained a priest, Father Damien, at Honolulu, on May 24, 1864.
Of all the districts he visited on the islands, the plight of the leper colony on the Island of Molokai most deeply affected him. During the 1800s, people in Hawaii with leprosy were dropped off by boat at a reef near the colony, by literally being thrown overboard, along with the cage that had contained them on board the ship, and a barrel containing a box of their possessions and food. If any of the lepers tried to get back on board, the crew would shoot them. On May 10, 1873, Father Damien, at his own request, and with the permission of his bishop, arrived at the settlement of about 600 lepers to become its resident priest.
Before Father Damien came to Molokai, the leper colony lived in a place where there were little resources and food was hard to come by. The lepers acted like animals, often killing each other for clothing and food. They lived in wretched conditions. The smell in their huts was so overpowering that Father Damien took up the use of tobacco to mask the stench.
After a bad storm wrecked many of their dwellings, he moved the leper colony to a better location. By tending to their spiritual needs and exercising moral leadership, he got them to cooperate together to make their lives more civilized and regain their sense of humanity. Of this time, he related:
Previous to my arrival here it was acknowledged and spoken of in the public papers as well as in private letters that the greatest want [here] was a spiritual leader. It was owing in a great measure to this want that vice as a general rule existed instead of virtue…. When once the disease prostrated them, women and children were often cast out, and had to find some other shelter. Sometimes they were laid behind a stone wall, and left there to die….
As there were so many dying people, my priestly duty toward them often gave me the opportunity to visit them at their domiciles, and although my exhortations were especially addressed to the prostrated often they would fall upon the ears of public sinners, who little by little became conscious of the consequences of their wicked lives, and began to reform, and thus, with the hope in a merciful Savior, gave up their bad habits.
Kindness to all, charity to the needy, a sympathizing hand to the sufferers and the dying, in conjunction with a solid religious instruction to my listeners, have been my constant means to introduce moral habits among the lepers…. [M]y labors here, which seemed to be almost in vain at the beginning, have, thanks to a kind Providence, been greatly crowned with success.
Father Damien nursed all the lepers on Molokai. For many years, he was the only person servicing the medical needs of the lepers, dressing wounds and bandaging ulcers. He created a crew to lay a pipe system to bring in fresh water and to cooperate in building homes. He also built four churches, two of which still remain. By 1882, Father Damien began to suspect that he had caught the disease himself. He lived with leprosy for 7 years, before dying on April 15, 1889.
His body was buried on Molokai, which was his wish, but his home country wanted him back, so his body was transferred to Belgium. Father Damien is the spiritual patron of people with leprosy, outcasts, and those with HIV/AIDS, and of the State of Hawaii where Father Damien Day is recognized each year on April 15. There is a bronze statue memorializing him at the United States Capitol. A full size replica stands in front of the Hawaii State Legislature. On December 1, 2005 the Belgian newspaper, Het Nieuwsblad conducted a vote to discover the greatest Belgian of all time and Father Damien was chosen.
Father Damien was beatified in 1995 with the official title of Blessed Damien of Molokai and his Feast Day in our liturgical calendar is May 10.
Loading ...
Comments