The History of Father Damien in the Land of the Exiled

The Father Damien statue sits in front of the State Capitol Building in Honolulu, Hawaii. The one thing that I have always remembered from stories in my younger years is that Father Damien helped the people on the island of Molokai who suffered from Hansen's Disease (Leprosy).

This statue was dedicated to Father Damien and in memory of the 7,200 victims of Hansen's Disease (and their helpers) who died in remote Kalawao and Kaupapa, land of the exiled. Their courage and compassion spared others from their own fate ....is what reads at the base of the statue.

Following is a little history of Father Damien:

• He was born to a farmer's son at Tremeloo, Belgium as Jozef de Veuster.
• Damien joined the Missionary Congregation of the Sacred Hearts on Jnauary 3, 1840.
• He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest at the Cathedral of Our Lady Of Peace in Honolulu in 1864.
• He volunteered to serve alone at the leprosy settlement on the island of Molokai in 1875.
• He lived and worked among the leprosy victims of all faiths and races for 16 years.
• He died on April 15, 1889 among his people of leprosy.
• He was 'beautified' (3rd of 4 steps to canonization and given the title 'blessed) by Pope John Paul II in 1995.
• He is expected to become one of the first saints of the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaii.

Leprosy is a disease caused by a bacterium that causes lesions on the exterior of the body but leprosy does progress if not treated. It can cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes and though many believe it causes body parts to fall of it actually does not.

Father Damien gave of himself to help these victims and minister to their doomed bodies. On the base of the statue it also states that: by his presence it gave them reassurance that they so deperately needed that they had not been forsaken by either God or by men.

Sculptress "Marisol Escobar" had worked from photographs of the dying priest, saw in Damien 'the mystery of physical transformation - as if he had become what he wanted to become.' ... (words on the base of the statue)

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© 2008 Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman, All rights reserved