Damien de Veuster SSCC - Leper Priest of Molokai (1840-89)

Fr. Damien, born 1840 in Tremeloo, Belgium. He joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts volunteering for the mission to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1873 he went to work as a priest in a leper colony on the island of Molokai. He died from leprosy in 1889 aged 49. The testimony of the life he lived among the lepers of Molokai led to an intensive study of Hansens disease, eventually leading to a cure. Pope John Paul II beatified Damien in 1995. He was named a saint on Oct 11th 2009.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Father Damien's Canonization a Step Closer

Sunday, June 08, 2008: The Vatican has recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Belgian Blessed Damien de Veuster, known as the apostle of lepers in Molokai, Hawaii. Father Bruno Benati, general postulator of Father Damien's cause, announced earlier this month that the Congregation for Saints' Causes ruled that a Hawaiian woman’s cure from cancer was a miracle linked to her prayers to Father Damien (1840-1889). This moves the blessed one step closer to being declared a saint.

The priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary revealed in a letter sent to his congregation that Audrey Toguchi was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer. "During her sickness, Toguchi was visited by the brothers and sisters of the Sacred Hearts who invited her to personally direct herself to the intercession of Blessed Damien: She prayed with faith and got her family and friends to pray for her," said Father Benati. The priest reported the words of the cured woman: "He was central to my prayers: from May 1, 1997, until Jan. 19, 2004, my prayers were directed to God exclusively through Blessed Damien. I am convinced that the miraculous disappearance of cancer is due to the intercession of Blessed Damien.' "Fathaer Benati added, "The medics who have examined this healing are all in agreement that it was 'extranatural and not exceptional.' Toguchi today enjoys perfect and full health."

Born Jozef De Veuster, he entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Leuven, Belgium, and took the name Damianus -- Damiaan in Dutch -- in his first vows. Damien was sent as a missionary to Honolulu in 1864, and shortly afterward was ordained a priest. Father Damien worked for several years in Hawaii before asking for permission to be assigned to Kalaupapa, a leprosy settlement on the island of Molokai. He arrived on May 10, 1873.

His first task was to build a Church and establish the Parish of St. Philomena. Besides his responsiblities as pastor, the priest also attended to the lepors medical needs, built homes and beds, and even coffins and dug graves. He is also attributed with being a great leader of the community, who enforced laws and organized farms and schools. Father Damien was 49 when he died of leprosy on April 15, 1889. He was declared blessed in 1995. The priest could be canonized as early as this year.
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Statistics of Patients on Molokai 1866-1908

Fr. Damien - SSCC Missionary (Damien's Writings)

In 1990, Fr. Patrick Bradley ss.cc., the then Superior General of Damien's Congregation, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, wrote a circular letter to all the members of the Congregation entitled: "Fr. Damien - SS.CC. Missionary" with some perspectives on the future of mission. Fr. Bradley's circular gathers together many of Damien's writings, which provide valuable insights into Damien's own life, motivation and work as a missionary. Over the course of the coming weeks, I hope to reproduce this publication which you can read by clicking on the link below.

See document - click here >>>>>>

Did You Know?
Father Damien's life and death among his people at Kalaupapa focused the attention of the world on the problem of leprosy and the plight of its victims. After Damien's death in 1889, the people of England established a fund and a commission for the scientific investigation of the disease.
Mother Marianne Cope nursed those suffering from leprosy in Hawai'i for 35 years. She arrived at Kalaupapa in 1888. Her philosophy of personal dignity in the face of death came almost a century before its adoption as the foundation of the hospice movement.
Sea cliffs rise two thousand feet above the peninsula and ocean separate Kalaupapa from the rest of the island of Moloka'i. In 1972 this area was designated as the North Shore Cliffs National Natural Landmark, recognized as a significant example of sea cliffs in the nation's natural heritage.

Bl. Damien de Veuster

Feastday: May 10th.

The Leper Priest, the Hero of Molokai. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, he joined the Sacred Hearts Fathers in 1860. He was bomn Joseph and received the name Damien in religious life. In 1864, he was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was ordained. For the next nine years he worked in missions on the big island, Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the leper colony on Molokai, after volunteering for the assignment. Damien cared for lepers of all ages, but was particularly concerned about the children segregated in the colony. He announced he was a leper in 1885 and continued to build hospitals, clinics, and churches, and some six hundred coffins. He died on April 15, 1889 on Molokai. Slandered by a Protestant minister, Mr. Hyde, Damien was defended by Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote an impassioned defense of Damien in 1905. He was declared venerable in 1977. Pope John Paul II declared him beatified on June 4, 1995.

Bibliography:

1. "Damien of Molokai." Anderson, Gerald H. Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. New York : Macmillan Reference USA; London : Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1998.
2. Daniel-Rops, Henri. The Heroes of God. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1965, 1958.
3. Farrow, John. Damien the Leper. Garden City, New York: Image Books, 1954.
4. Stevenson, Robert Louis. In the South Seas. New York: Scribners, 1911.

Edward Clifford. Father Damien: A Journey from Cashmere to His Home in Hawaii. London and New York: Macmillan. 1889. 352pp.
Piers Compton. Father Damien. London: Alexander Ouseley. 1933. 196pp.
Gavan Daws. Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai. New York: Harper & Row. 1973. 293pp.
Charles J. Dutton. The Samaritans of Molokai: The Lives of Father Damien and Brother Dutton Among the Lepers. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1932. 286pp.
Omer Englebert. The Hero of Molokai: Father Damien, Apostle of the Lepers. St. Paul Editions. 1962. 364pp. Translation of Le pére Damien.
Hilde Eynikel. Molokai: The Story of Father Damien. Hodder & Stoughton. 2001. 324pp.
John Farrow. Damien: The Leper. Sheed & Ward. 1937. 230pp.
Vital Jourdan. The Heart of Father Damien, 1840-1889. Guild Press. 1960. 500pp. Translation of Le père Damien de Veuster, apôtre des lépreux.
Ann Roos. Man of Molokai: The Life of Father Damien. J. B. Lippincott. 1943. 254pp.
Philibert Tauvel. Father Damien: Apostle of the Lepers of Molokai, Priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. Art and Book Co.. 1904. 206pp.