Trailer - The Story of Fr. Damien

MOLOKAI: THE STORY OF FATHER DAMIEN: Movie Trailer - Click here for funny video clips

Fire Damages St Sophia Church on Molokai

Feb. 11th: Late Wednesday a fire broke out at St. Sophia Catholic church in Kaunakakai, charring the entire inside and much of the outside.

The fire alarm sounded at 10:42 p.m. Wednesday with all three Molokai engine companies responding. Engine 4 was first on the scene and was quickly followed by engines 9 and 12. It took about two hours to get the fire under control with mop up operations continuing through the night. Emergency crews shut down the town last night for safety. Yesterday morning fire crews could still be seen spraying water and foam in the smoldering ruins.

An investigator came in from Maui yesterday to help determine the cause of the fire. Molokai Fire Inspector Rick Schoneley began the preliminary investigation and took photos but no cause has yet been determined. While some speculated, including Father Clyde Guerrero, that the devotional candles may have set the blaze, this is still speculation at this time.

Father Clyde, pastor of the Saint Damien Parish, said that St. Sophia has held its last service. With the entire insides blackened it cannot be saved. Father Clyde said an insurance company inspector will come to Molokai Tuesday to determine the extent of the damage but he believes the building will most likely be demolished.

The church, built in 1937, has been in need of replacement for some time. Since 1995, the Molokai Catholic Community has been working to raise the $3 million needed to rebuild Saint Sophia as Blessed Damien Church in honor of Saint Damien who was canonized in October.

On January 5, the Maui County’s Urban Design Review Board recommended a special management area permit for approval by the Molokai Planning Commission.

The church serves about 300 families on Molokai. Other churches in the area have already offered their worship space to the Catholic community until a new church is built.
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REINFORCE STRATEGIES IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST LEPROSY

VATICAN CITY, 29 JAN 2010 ( VIS ) - The Message for the fifty-seventh World Day of Leprosy was published today. It bears the signature of Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Healthcare Ministry. The Day itself is due to be celebrated on Sunday 31 January.

According to the most recent data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), "in 2009, 210,000 new cases of the disease were recorded. ... The countries most affected are in Asia, South America and Africa . India has the greatest number of sufferers, followed by Brazil ".

Archbishop Zimowski makes a call "to the international community and to the authorities of each individual State, inviting them to develop and reinforce the strategies necessary to combat leprosy, making them more effective and far-reaching especially in places where the number of new cases remains high. This", he continues, "must be done without overlooking educational and awareness-raising campaigns capable of helping those affected, and their families, to emerge from isolation and obtain the necessary treatment".

At the end of his message, the president of the Pontifical Council for Healthcare Ministry expresses his thanks to the WHO, and to religious, missionaries, non-governmental associations and organisations, and many volunteers for their commitment "to eradicate this and other 'forgotten' diseases".
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Pope: Charity is "the badge of a Christian"

Angelus, Benedict XVI invites prayers for peace in the Holy Land and thoughts for those who have lost their jobs in the economic crisis. World Day of Leprosy Suffers.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) Jan 31st: - An invitation to join in prayer for peace in the Holy Land and some thoughts on how many are losing their jobs because of the economic crisis, in the words of Benedict XVI to twenty thousand people present in St Peter's Square, despite the rainy day, after the midday Angelus prayer, before the recital of which the pope spoke of charity, as "the badge of Christianity."

Taking a cue from the passage of St Paul in this Sunday’s liturgy, the so-called "hymn of charity”, the Pope stressed that "Paul shows us the 'path' to perfection. This - he says - does not consist in possessing exceptional qualities: speaking new languages, knowing all mysteries, having wonderful faith or carrying out heroic gestures. Rather it consists in charity - agape - that is in true love, what God has revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Charity is the ‘greatest gift’, which gives value to everything else, but it 'does not boast, it is not swollen with pride,' indeed, it 'rejoices in the truth' and the good of others. Who really loves 'does not seek his own interests', he 'takes no account of evil received', he 'bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things' (cf. 1 Cor 13:4-7). Eventually, when we meet face to face with God, all the other gifts will be less; the only one that will remain forever is charity, because God is love and we shall be like Him, in perfect communion with Him. "

"For now - he continued - while we are in this world, charity is the badge of a Christian. It is the synthesis of his whole life for what he believes and what he does. For this reason, at the beginning of my pontificate, I wanted to dedicate my first Encyclical to the theme of love: Deus Caritas Est. As you recall, this encyclical is composed of two parts, which correspond to the two aspects of love: its meaning, and therefore its implementation. Love is the essence of God himself, it is the sense of creation and history, it is the light that gives goodness and beauty to every human existence. At the same time, love is, so to speak, the 'style' of God and he who believes, it is the behaviour of those who, responding to the love of God, lays down his own life as a gift of self to God and to neighbour. In Jesus Christ these two aspects form a perfect unity: He is Love Incarnate. This love is revealed to us fully in Christ crucified. "

Many themes were touched upon by Benedict XVI, after the Marian prayer. The Holy Land as well as those suffering from leprosy. "The last Sunday of January - he said - is the World Day of Leprosy Suffers. One thinks immediately of Father Damien de Veuster, who gave his life for these brothers and sisters, and who last October, I declared a saint. To his celestial protection I commend all the people who unfortunately are still suffering from this disease, as well as health workers and volunteers who devote themselves so there might be a world without leprosy. I greet in particular the Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau”.

"Today - he said then - it also celebrates the second day of intercession for peace in the Holy Land. In communion with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land, I unite myself spiritually in prayer with the many Christians from all over the world, while I warmly greet those who are gathered here for this occasion. "A message of peace - added the Pope – is also brought to us by the boys and girls of Catholic Action Rome." Traditionally, they conclude the month of January with the "Peace Caravan" and the end of the audience two of them are invited to the Papal apartments from where they release two doves from the window, a symbol of peace.

A thought, finally, for those who are losing their jobs, with the statement that "this situation requires a great sense of responsibility on the part of all: employers, workers, governments".
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New Book about Damien

Anwei and Henry Law's recent book, Father Damien ... 'A Bit of Taro, A Piece of Fish, and A Glass of Water,' is more than a book about St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai. It's a book about leprosy and the disease's effect on the people of Hawaii, and especially those who lived in Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. "Father Damien has always been regarded as the center of their history. If you read other books on Kalaupapa and their history, it's all about Father Damien," explained Anwei Law, who with her husband, Henry, resides in Seneca Falls.

Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian missionary, was ordained in Honolulu in 1864 and in 1873 arrived in Kalaupapa, which at the time was a settlement for Hawaiians with leprosy. Men, women and children who were diagnosed with leprosy were taken from their families and sent by boat to the island and were not allowed to return to their own homes and communities. The Belgian priest ministered to people there for 16 years before dying of leprosy himself in 1889 at the age of 49.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized the priest Oct. 11, 2009, and called St. Damien a "shining example" of Christian love, according to Catholic News Service. "He invites us to open our eyes towards the 'leprosies' that disfigure the humanity of our brothers and sisters and that today still call, more than for our generosity, for the charity of our serving presence," the pope said during the canonization Mass, which more than 40,000 people attended, according to CNS. "You really see the impact that this man has had on people," Anwei Law said. "He stood up for what was right. He knew what he needed to do. He just loved the Hawaiian people."

The Laws' book is not the first to be written about St. Damien, and it's not likely to be the last. It is, however, the only book the Laws know of that focuses on the viewpoints of the people with leprosy St. Damien lived amongst, Anwei Law said. The Laws' book presents the story of St. Damien as told through the letters and testimonies -- passed down through oral histories -- of the people who knew him. "We were trying to bring the voices of the people who had leprosy back into the story of Father Damien," Anwei Law said.

Although much has been written about St. Damien and about leprosy, which is now called Hansen's disease, the voices of the people affected by this disease have been conspicuously missing in written history, Bishop Clarence Silva, bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu, noted in the forward to the Laws' book. "Even though they wrote hundreds of letters and petitions and provided eye-witness testimony to the historical events of the 19th and 20th centuries, their perspective simply hasn't been included in the traditional histories," Bishop Silva wrote in the foreword.

Throughout history, the voices of those with leprosy have been discounted as unimportant, Anwei Law said. This discrimination continued even after the 1940s, when the first cure for leprosy was developed, she said. Even well-respected doctors and lawyers have faced discrimination after contracting the disease, she noted. "People thought when you got this disease you no longer had any credibility ... as a human being ... and you're worth nothing anymore. People are people, no matter if you have leprosy or not," Henry Law said. "In every religion and culture, men, women and children have been discriminated against," Anwei Law added.

This discrimination still exists today, but she and her husband hope their new book will be a weapon against such discrimination. Their inclusion of the voices of people who've actually lived with the disease leaves less room for misinterpretation, she said. "When people's voices are included, they are able to define themselves rather than be limited by the imagination and perceptions of others who did not know them," she said. The Laws have long advocated for people who've dealt with leprosy. Anwei Law's father was a leprosy researcher, and she became interested in the disease at a young age. In 1977 she moved to Kalaupapa to continue her own research, and there she met Henry Law, who was working as an architect for the National Park Service. The couple lived in Kalaupapa for several decades before moving to Seneca Falls several years ago.

The couple still visits Hawaii several times a year and is active within the International Association for Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement, which is the largest international advocacy organization by and for individuals who've faced the challenges of leprosy. Proceeds from the sale of Father Damien will be donated to IDEA, Henry Law said. "We're just saying that the discrimination and the labeling of people really has to stop," Henry Law said.

The Laws' book may be ordered online for $25 at www.fatherdamienmolokai.org, or by sending a check payable to IDEA to PO Box 651, Seneca Falls, NY 13148.
By Jennifer Burke
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The Management of Kalaupapa

Jan. 28th: - The Associated Press reported yesterday that State Senator J. Kalani English, who represents Molokai, has proposed legislation that would transfer management of the Kalaupapa settlement form the state Department of Health to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.

The transfer would not happen until there are no more patients receiving care in Kalaupapa. At this time there are 19 patients living in Kalaupapa, all are over the age of 65. Senator English said the state should prepare for more visitors interested in the historical, cultural and religious significance of Kalaupapa.

Because there are some Hawaiian homesteads on the north shore of Molokai in Kalawao County, English believes it makes more sense for the DHHL to manage this area once the patients are gone.
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Blessed Statue - Mother Marianne Cope

The statue of Mother Marianne Cope, who served Hansen's disease patients in Hawaii for 35 years, is to be dedicated today at Kewalo Basin Park commemorating her role in Hawaii history. CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM

Hawaii Star Bulletin: Jan. 23rd: - The 6-foot bronze statue of Mother Marianne Cope at Kewalo Basin was crafted by Sister Rosaire Kopczenski of Pittsburgh and depicts Cope striding forward, veil swept by the wind. The Sisters of St. Francis installed the bronze image of Cope, who brought the first Franciscan nuns to Hawaii in 1883 in response to King Kalakaua's call for help in caring for leprosy victims. The image of a religious woman swathed in full-length habit and veil seems an anomaly in the location frequented by pleasure seekers, lightly clad swimmers, surfers, joggers and fishermen.

Sister William Marie Eleniki said the site is a perfect fit not only because the nuns landed nearby when they arrived on the ship Mariposa, but because Kakaako was the location of the first government hospital opened for leprosy patients when the disease reached epidemic proportions in the late 19th century. "When people see this statue, we hope they will understand the unconditional love that Mother Marianne had for those who were shunned from society simply for the misfortune of having Hansen's disease," said Eleniki, chief administrator of the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation. Near the shoreline, the figure faces toward Molokai. Cope and other sisters went to Molokai in 1888 to continue the work of Father Damien De Veuster at the Kalaupapa peninsula settlement, where more than 8,000 patients were isolated during a century of quarantine. She died there in 1918.

The installation needed approval from the Hawaii Community Development Authority. The state board, which regulates all Kakaako development, has approved other memorials in public parks, requiring that they have a link with the area and that the sponsors commit to maintaining them. "We thought there was a clear nexus since she served at the Kakaako branch receiving hospital," said Executive Director Anthony Ching. "She was also known to be an avid fisherman and likely fished in the harbor area." Ching added, "We all recognize that Mother Marianne is a heroic figure with little notoriety who did a great service to the people of Hawaii." There was a delay in the approval process last year after the Citizens Planning Advisory Council for Kakaako objected to the initial site, an area overlooking the Point Panic surfing area. "The objection was not to the memorial," Ching said. "They objected to the placement," which would reduce space in a shady area where surfers gather.

Sister Rosaire Kopczenski of Pittsburgh depicted Cope striding forward, veil swept by the wind, and a foot taller than her 5-foot height. "She never stood still. Her energy and determination reached out beyond her size," said the sculptor, who taught art at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania. Kopczenski said she crafted the statue's hands in "hula movements, one reaching out and the other touching her heart in empathy," based on consultation with a kumu hula during a five-week stay in Hawaii in 2008. "Working on the statue was a labor of prayer, a spiritual experience," she said. "I took a lot of contemplative time," seeking to capture the depth of the subject and make it "a spiritual expression of serving God through what a human being can do." She visited the site Wednesday as workmen completed the installation while homeless men, outcasts of modern society, watched from nearby shade. A plaque on the base says, "This statue serves as an inspiration to never give up caring for those whom society has abandoned." It quotes Cope's letter to island officials: "I am hungry for the work. I am not afraid of any disease, hence it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned."

The Catholic Church is considering a cause for sainthood for the nun because of her 35 years of service to outcasts. Cope was declared "blessed" in May 2005, the second step in the canonization process. Pope John Paul II set Jan. 23, her birthday, as her feast day in the Catholic liturgical calendar.
By Mary Adamski
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Award for Damien Film

La Verne, Ca, January 17, 2010: Jennifer Hoge, of Premier Image Productions, has won a prestigious Award of Merit from The Accolade Competition. The award was given for Jennifer Hoge's feature documentary, Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint, which tells the story of Damien of Molokai through his own words, commentary, and narration. Fr. Damien de Veuster was named a saint by the Catholic Church on October 11, 2009. Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint features exceptional use of Damien's letters and journal writings, as if Damien is telling his own story. Damien's voice is portrayed by Tom Wilson, well-known comedian and best known as Biff from Back to the Future. Mike Laponis, University of La Verne Professor, lends his voice as the narrator. Commentary is provided by Fr. Micahel Barry, ss.cc., Fr. Martin O'Laughin, ss.cc., and Fr. John Roche, ss.cc.

"This film was a collaboration of efforts by many people and it was a pleasure to be a part of it," Jennifer Hoge said. "I am proud of the film and am honored that it has been recognized by the Accolade Competition. Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint, touches everyone who watches this film in so many different ways. When I started this production, I had no idea what we were setting out to achieve. It was going to be about Damien, but it became so much more than that. Damien's life was an example of how the touch of God influences each and every one of us. This film became an extension of that."

The Accolade recognizes film, television, and videography professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Entries are judged by highly qualified professionals in the film and television industry. Information about the Accolade and a list of recent winners can be found at www.theaccolade.net.

In winning an Accolade, Premier Image Productions joins the ranks of other high-profile winners of this internationally respected award. Thomas Baker, Ph.D, who chairs The Accolade, had this to say about the latest winners, "The Accolade is not an easy award to win. Entries are received from around the world. The Accolade helps set the standard for craft and creativity. The judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of entries. The goal of The Accolade is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve."

Premier Image Productions produced Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint in association with the Secular Branch of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary USA West.

Copies of Damien Making a Difference, God Making a Saint can be obtained for a suggested donation of $30 by writing SSCC USA West PO BOX 668 San Dimas, Ca 91773 or e-mailing ssccwest@cpl.net

For more information or to request a pdf file of the film's press kit with production stills, screen shots, cast bios and photos, director's statements, and film notes, please contact Jennifer Hoge at jenniferhoge@premierimageprod.com
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This story rings true: St. Damien's Big Island church bell discovered

(Left) The former Waiapuka bell in St. Stephen Church, Nuuanu. Its plaque reads, “The original St. Stephens Catholic Church Bell.” (Right) This undated Sacred Hearts Congregation photo had the caption “Church of Waiapuka Kohala built by F.D. dismantled by F. Servitius its bell in St. Stephen’s Church Nuuanu Honolulu”

When researching the Catholic Church’s history in Hawaii, I have always taken an interest in old church bells. This a story of one such bell.

On Nov. 6, 1932, Bishop Stephen Alencastre blessed the church of St. Stephen in Nuuanu, Honolulu. During the construction of the church, an old abandoned bell from a dismantled church in Waiapuka on the Big Island was installed in the tower. One can only imagine how faithfully it had served the Hawaiian Catholics of Kohala in those early mission days. Now, once more, it was called upon to do the same for the faithful of Nuuanu.

In 1968, the parishioners with their pastor, Father Joseph Turk, built the present-day St. Stephen’s and, in its modernistic tower, new bells were inserted. The old bell, no longer needed, was put to rest in some inconspicuous area on the church grounds. Abandoned again, it would remain quietly there through the passing years. In the 1990s, a thoughtful parishioner, the late Robert Dong (everyone called him “Uncle Bob”) provided a stock — the harness-mount — for the bell. Some time later, someone decided to bring the venerable object out of the cold into the warmth of the church building. And here, in the back corner of St. Stephen Church, the old bell sits today.

On the morning of Oct. 11, the day Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien in Rome, St. Stephen’s pastor, Father Khanh Pham-Nguyen, asked me to celebrate the parish Mass and talk about Hawaii’s new saint. A few days earlier, I was suddenly struck by this thought: Could there be a connection between our honored saint and the old Kohala bell?

Before going to Molokai, the young Belgian priest had devoted many years of his early ministry in the Kohala-Hamakua region. Could this be the bell that once served Father Damien’s Waiapuka mission in Kohala? A letter written home by Father Damien makes this notion plausible. Writing to his parents on Oct. 12, 1869, while he was serving in Kohala, he mentioned a bell. “At present I have three churches to serve at fifteen miles distance one from another,” he wrote. “The last church I built is a fine-looking building with a nice little tower. I am still waiting for the bell that Auguste (his older brother, Father Pamphile) has so often promised me, but it never comes … As there is no bell yet, we call our people together with a horn.”

This indeed is a “letter of interest,” but it was not a convincing proof for the notion I had in mind. I had to look at the old bell itself for an answer. Old church bells can reveal a lot of things. Years ago I had climbed the rickety wooden stairs in the tower of Our Lady of Peace Cathedral in Honolulu to see what one of Hawaii’s oldest church bells would tell me. On its bronze surface were inscribed in French the words: “My name is Marie Louis Maigret, Bishop of Arathia … 1853.” Since then, I have always referred to this century-and-a-half-year-old metal hulk as the “MAIGRET BELL.” (Louis Maigret was the missionary bishop in Honolulu when the cathedral was built. Since Honolulu was not a diocese at the time, he was named to the titular diocese of “Arathia.”) Now, I made a hurried visit to the Nuuanu parish to examine closely the Kohala bell. The inscription I found was brief. It gave the name of the Paris foundry where the bell was made. But what followed was a most happy revelation! It was the date: “1872” The date 1872 definitely indicated that the bell had served one of Father Damien’s mission churches in Kohala. But more than that, I am convinced that this is the bell mentioned in Damien’s 1869 letter to his parents; the bell he anxiously had expected from his brother Auguste; the bell he planned to install in the “nice little tower” of a church he had built.

The bell must have arrived in Hawaii that year of 1872, much to the joy and satisfaction of the priest and people of Kohala. The following year, God had other plans for Father Damien. On May 10, 1873, he began his new ministry on the island of Molokai. After my discovery, Father Christopher Keahi, superior of the Sacred Hearts Fathers in Hawaii located an old undated picture in an archives photo album of a church with a small bell tower and this caption: “Church of Waiapuka Kohala built by F.D. dismantled by F. Servitius its bell in St. Stephen’s Church Nuuanu, Honolulu.” Father Keahi’s explanatory note said that “F.D.” is Father Damien and “F. Servatius” is Father Servatius Thys, who took down the Waiapuka church in 1932 (the year St. Stephen was built) after it congregation “apparently moved to other sites.”

On the Sunday I offered the Mass at St. Stephen’s, the day Benedict XVI declared Damien a saint, I spoke to the parishioners about their prized possession — St. Damien’s old mission bell. Perhaps no one was happier and more proud than the pastor himself, Father Pham-Nguyen. He assured me that the bell would not remain silent. This “DAMIEN BELL” will continue to ring out in God’s service as it did in the mission days of old.

By Father Louis H. Yim
Island-born Father Yim is a retired pastor, diocesan archivist and historian.

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Feeding the Poor is Priest's Mission

JOHN SLADEWSKI/The Standard-Times The Rev. Gabriel Healy, SS.CC. of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founder of Damien's Place food pantry, is the Wareham Man of the Year.
Wareham, Mass: - His dream was to become a missionary serving in foreign lands, but instead he made SouthCoast his mission field and feeding its poor his life's work. For his compassion and devotion to the poor, the Rev. Gabriel Healy, SS.CC. of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, is the 2009 Wareham Man of the Year. Nominations for the award came from the community and members of the newspaper staff. Recipients were selected by a newsroom committee.
Healy said he was born with a "missionary heart." The Dorchester native became aware of his special calling in elementary school when a missionary spoke to his class about foreign missions.
"I was so excited and that feeling has never left me," he said. "Even now as I reflect on 52 years, my heart still beats with the desire to serve God."
In high school, Healy read about the life of Father Damien de Veuster, the Roman Catholic missionary who ministered to lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. "It gave content and depth to that sense of mission and nurtured in me the desire to belong to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts," he said. "To this congregation I was called, and from this congregation I was almost separated."
In seminary, Healy's studies were interrupted by illness and he went home for surgery. The superior wrote to him urging him to stay home and recover; however, the letter he actually received told him to return. When he arrived, the superior conceded; and he continued his studies. "There was never any doubt in my mind that God's will was reflected in the letter I received, and here I am," Healy said. "This was a deciding point in my vocation, and it made me feel deeply then, as I do now, that there are never any accidents with God."
Following ordination, he was filled with anticipation as he waited for his first missionary assignment, which could take him anywhere in the world. A fellow priest was sent to Japan, and Healy longed to go there. But he learned he was going to teach in California because of his frail health.
Over the years, Healy would serve locally as the congregation's vocation director, assistant novice master, novice master, treasurer, director of development and mission animator, as well as pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Mattapoisett and of Holy Trinity Church in Harwich.
At Holy Trinity, Healy, with the help of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, established The Family Pantry to serve the poor on Cape Cod. It has since been renamed Gabriel's Place in his honor.
In 1992, he opened a second food pantry, Damien's Place, in Wareham, as an outreach of the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center. "The pantries now serve thousands of hungry families," said Father Thomas McElroy, SS.CC., who serves as co-director. "Father Gabe is the person behind the scenes, buying food, begging food, improving the pantry's outreach. ... No one would suspect that this quiet, joy-filled man was the reason for so many hungry people having their needs fulfilled."
An octogenarian, Healy can still be found on Saturday mornings at Damien's Place.
"I love the poor. They need to be loved," he said. "If you believe that what you are doing is God's will, life becomes a series of opportunities — of trying to be or become what God has found in you. Only God looks deep enough, long enough and hard enough to see who we are, then with patience, love and forgiveness guides those who keep his covenant to the promise of a life fulfilled."
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What Causes Leprosy

Leprosy is a chronic skin disease caused by bacteria known as “leprae”. Leprosy is also known as Hansen’s Disease, which is named after Dr. Hansen, the person who discovered the leprae bacteria in 1783 but tracing back to the medicinal journal, leprosy has been around since 600B.C. The external symptom of leprosy such as skin lesion is the most common symptom of leprosy. If leprosy is left untreated, it can be very progressive and can cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. However, contrary to urban myth, leprosy does not actually cause body parts to simply fall off.

The main cause of leprosy is when bacteria leprae enter your body through the nose or through the broken skin others who have leprosy. Once the leprae bacteria enters your body, it goes straight to your epidermis because of the high amount of blood, which contains oxygen and nutrients. The leprae bacteria will start breeding and infecting your skin causing leprosy. However, that is not the only cause of leprosy as an untreated syphilis disease could cause leprosy. When untreated, the syphilis virus will be mutated causing the same skin condition as leprosy.

The few symptoms of leprosy consists of redness, darker or lighter spot than skin that look very odd. That part of skin usually have no sensation and when you pinch or touch it, you will not feel anything as the leprae bacteria has killed the nerves beneath the skin. You will also suffer from chronically stuffy nose and many other skin lesions and nodules on the sides of your body.

With modern medical technology, diagnosis and treatment of leprosy is easy and most endemic countries are striving to fully integrate leprosy services into existing general health services. leprosy treatment has been made available by WHO free of charge to all patients worldwide since 1995, and provides a simple yet highly effective cure for all types of leprosy.
Information campaigns about leprosy in high risk areas are crucial so that patients and their families, who were historically ostracized from their communities, are encouraged to come forward and receive treatment. The most effective way of preventing disabilities in leprosy, as well as preventing further transmission of the disease, lies in early diagnosis and treatment with leprosy.
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Bihar priest named man of the year

Catholic News, India Dec. 23rd: - A national weekly has named a Catholic priest as its “man of the year,” in recognition of his efforts to restore the life of some 50,000 leprosy patients in Bihar. The Kerala-based “The Week” selected Father Christudas of Bettiah diocese for its 2009 recognition and ran the cover of its December last week edition with his photograph. The announcement “is a great way to celebrate the year for the priests,” Bishop Victor Henry Thakur of Bettiah told UCA News on Dec. 21, reacting to the news.

The 71-year-old priest’s Little Flower Centre is in Sunderpur village in Raxaul town on the India-Nepal border, an area known for large number of colonies for this socially segregated people. The priest began the center in 1981 with about 100 people suffering from leprosy. “He is a one-man army who gave 50,000 lepers and their families a fresh start in life. He gave them treatment, dignity and more importantly the will to live and smile again,” The Week’s cover story said.

The center spread over 8 hectares of land grows wheat and runs a poultry farm that meets 40 percent of its needs. The complex includes a school, hostel, hospital, work center and a village of 200 families — all cured patients. The Week article explains how the son of a liquor vender from Kerala’s Edamaruku village traveled to different places in India in his quest to become a missionary priest before settling in Raxaul. He first joined St. Paul’s Society to become a priest but returned after failing exams. He spent some time in Yercard, Tamil Nadu, with a Brother’s congregation and later joined the Bothers of Missionaries of Charity, before becoming a priest and incardinated in the diocese.

The integration of the leprosy patients and their families in mainstream society is “the sole purpose of my work,” says the priest, who once noticed a leprous patch on his angle but got it cured. The priest expressed people reading reports about his work would change their mindset about “our people.” Bishop Thakur said the recognition has gladdened him because the whole India would come to know about the priest’s “commitment, dedication to the healing ministry to the most disadvantaged.” The prelate also said that Father Christudas is locally known as “Baba” or a revered elder, but “the honor has made him known nationally and internally.”

“The Week” said Bihar’s northern region now has 22 leper colonies, 10 less than when Father Christudas began his center 28 year ago. “And only patients are the older generation,” it said. The priest wants his rehabilitation center to flourish, but is also looking forward to a time when the hospital will have no patients. “Then I will know that my life has been a worthy one,” he told the weekly.
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Leprosy in the Philippines

When the National Leprosy Control Program (NLCP) was established in 1986, there were 38,570 registered leprosy patients in the country. That number translated into a Prevalence Rate (PR) of 7.2 per 10,000 Filipinos.
By the end of 1998, with 7,005 registered patients and a PR of 0.90 per 10,000 population, leprosy was no longer considered as a public health problem by both the Department of Health (DOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In 2004, the number was further reduced to 3,149 registered cases and a PR of 0.38 per 10,000 population.
From January 1 to December 31, 2004, a total of 2,120 new cases of leprosy were diagnosed and all were put under treatment with MDT.
The NLCP is under the supervision of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC) of the DOH headed by Dr. Yolanda Oliveros; and the Infectious Disease Office headed by Dr. Jaime Lagahid. Dr. Leda Hernandez is Chief of the Division that handles leprosy while Dr. Francesca Gajete is the National Program Manager. - DOH Philippines
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Temple-Era DNA Reveals Oldest Case of Leprosy

Israel National News: (IsraelNN.com) The DNA of a man buried near Jerusalem's Old City in the first century Common Era reveals the earliest identifiable case of leprosy, according to researchers from Israel and North America. The burial shroud may also disprove the claim that the Shroud of Turin is from first-century Jerusalem.
The burial cave in which the remains were found, which is known as the Tomb of the Shroud, is located in the lower Hinnom Valley and is part of a first-century C.E. cemetery. The shrouded man, whose bones were dated by radiocarbon methods to 1-50 C.E., did not receive the customary secondary burial in an ossuary (small stone container for bones) common at the time. The entrance to the part of the tomb where this individual was buried was completely sealed with plaster.
The Hebrew University's Prof. Mark Spigelman, one of the leading researchers who studied the molecular evidence from the tomb, believes the isolation was due to the fact that the shrouded man suffered from leprosy and died of tuberculosis. The DNA of both diseases was found in his bones.
The excavation also found a clump of the shrouded man's hair, which had been ritually cut prior to his burial. These are both unique discoveries, as explained by Hebrew University spokespeople, because organic remains are hardly ever preserved in the Jerusalem area owing to high humidity levels in the ground.The evidence revealed by the remains indicate that tuberculosis and leprosy may have crossed social boundaries in the first-century C.E. Jerusalem. A number of clues - the size of the tomb, its location alongside a High Priest, the type of textiles used as shroud wrappings, and the clean state of the man's hair - suggest that the shrouded individual was a fairly affluent member of society in Jerusalem or a priest himself. Furthermore, according to Prof. Shimon Gibson of Hebrew University, the tomb would have faced directly toward the Jewish Temple of the time.
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
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Actor Terence Knapp will Present 'Life and Legacy of Father Damien'

Maui News: Dec. 9th: - In commemoration of the recent canonization of Father Damien De Veuster to sainthood, award-winning actor and scholar Terence Knapp will present "The Life and Legacy of Father Damien" at Kaimuki Public Library on Sunday, December 20 at 2 p.m. The free program will be conducted in the Adult Reading Room.

Of all the parts the veteran actor has played, Knapp identifies most with Father Damien. His role in "Damien," a dramatic monologue by Aldyth Morris, has defined the actor ever since he first presented it at Kennedy Theatre in 1976. Knapp will share information and his insights about Father Damien of Molokai, who was acknowledged by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009 at the Vatican as Hawaii's first saint.

The one-hour program is suitable for all ages. Contact the library two weeks in advance if a sign language interpreter or other special accommodation is needed. Kaimuki Public Library is located at 1041 Koko Head Avenue, corner of Koko Head and Harding Avenues. For more information, please call the Library at 733-8422.
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Newly Named Saint Celebrated in Park

National Parks Gallery Tuesday, Dec 1, 2009: - Saturday, November 7th, marked the formal close of months of celebratory activities surrounding the sainthood of Joseph Damien de Veuster at the Vatican in Rome on October 11th. In stunning contrast to the regal setting of the holy city, filled with ancient architectural and artistic wonders, Kalaupapa’s November 7th celebration was nestled within a backdrop of Molokai’s unparalleled natural splendor and steeped in a profound sense of place, history and aloha, bringing this long-awaited commemoration full circle back to the place where it all began.

“Today is about the Kalaupapa patient residents, and about helping our kupuna [elders] and their invited guests honor Saint Damien’s legacy as a ‘Servant of God and Servant of Humanity,’” explained superintendent Steve Prokop. Arriving by charter plane and via the historic Kalaupapa Pali (cliff) Trail, visitors began their descent onto Moloka`i’s renowned north shore peninsula with the rising sun. This remote Kalaupapa Peninsula is the place where Damien’s work first began attracting world-wide attention to the plight of local islanders forced into exile after having contracting leprosy (Hansen’s disease).

Prior to an outdoor mass on the historic St. Philomena Church grounds, visitors enjoyed refreshments and interpretive displays on recent preservation work completed on St. Philomena Church. Bishop Larry Silva and clergy presided over the service, which included contributions from residents Pauline Chow and Gloria Marks, St. John’s Vianney Choir and prominent leaders of Kalaupapa’s other religious and secular organizations.

Na Wahine o Kalawao delivered a moving hula performance to the piece entitled “Saint Damien” while the winds stirred suddenly and the crowd was showered with a gentle “Hawaiian blessing”. Mass was followed by a good old fashioned lu`au feast, live music and educational exhibits on Saint Damien and resident life at Kalaupapa. Sharing words on this joyful commemoration, Kalaupapa resident Kay Costales recited, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.”
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PAPAL MASS WITH INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION

VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2009 (VIS) - Early this morning Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, with members of the International Theological Commission. In his homily the Pope described the figure of the true theologian, who does not succumb to the temptation of using the measure of his own intelligence to fathom the mystery of God. In the study of Holy Scripture over the last two hundred years, he said, "there have been great specialists and ... masters of the faith who have penetrated into the details ... of the history of salvation. But they were unable to see the mystery in itself, the central nucleus: that Christ truly was the Son of God". Yet the history of the Church, the Holy Father went on, contains a long list of men and women who were capable of humility and of reaching the truth. Among these he mentioned St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Damian de Veuster, "little people who were also wise", models from which to draw inspiration because "they were touched in the depths of their heart". "Following His Resurrection the Lord touched the heart of Saul on the road to Damascus", the Pope concluded, "Saul, who was one of the wise who could not see. ... He became blind and thus truly came to see. The great man becomes a small man and so sees the ... wisdom of God, ... which is greater than all human wisdom".
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New Coin Wows Hawaii

World Coin News Nov. 24th: It is unusual to see a coin show with lines at the door where coin collectors are in the minority. Yet over the course of three days from Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at the Hawaii State Numismatic Association’s annual convention, this was sometimes the norm, according to a report from The Coin & Currency Institute, Inc. To the surprise of many in attendance, the hubbub was caused by a silver 20-euro coin from Belgium with such a uniquely Hawaiian twist that it made headlines in newspaper, television, radio and online reports.

The coin was issued by Belgium to commemorate the canonization of Father Damien, now known as St. Damien of Molokai, by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 11. Although he was born in Belgium, St. Damien, also known as the “leper priest,” is as revered in Hawaii as in his native land. His work of caring for thousands of sick people at the Kalawao settlement on Molokai made him a Hawaiian legend. He died in 1889 of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) while giving this care.

The coin, which was to arrive in Honolulu in time for the show, was not delivered until Nov. 2 due to a delay in Customs processing. While that caused some disappointment, buyers were undeterred, according to the report. When Hawaii’s largest newspaper, the Honolulu Advertiser ran a headline saying “Coin Show, No Show,” in its Nov. 1 issue, it made the point that, “St. Damien’s foot is fleeter than international mail service” – a reference to the fact that this was “nearly three weeks after Bishop Larry Silva hand-delivered a relic of Damien’s heel back to Hawaii.”

The result of the story was that it “attracted even more folks,” said Vince Vento of Alii Coin & Currency, LLC, who is distributing the coin in Hawaii for the Royal Belgian Mint, By the close of the show Sunday, Vento had pages of reservations for the coins – so many that even after limiting buyers to just one coin per person, the initial shipment of several hundred was oversold and the Royal Belgian Mint was preparing a second shipment. Coin and paper money dealer Jim Simek said of the crowds that, “there were times where 20 to 30 people were lined up at Vento’s table,” and that it was “unlike anything I’ve seen at a coin show in a long time for a non-American coin.”

Todd Kuwaye, a local collector of Morgan dollars and U.S. gold coins, would have gone to the Honolulu show anyway but said that he went early, “just to get the coin.” He said it was “the first European coin I ever bought.” The coin is 37 mm in diameter and contains 22.85 grams of sterling silver. It is struck in mirror-finish proof quality. Mintage is limited to just 15,000 coins worldwide and 10 percent of the coins available for export have already been sold in Hawaii. Issue price is U.S. $75, or 49 euros. The Finance Ministry of Belgium is donating the net profits from the sale of the coin to the Damien Actie (Action), a non-governmental organization established in 1964 that is mainly concerned with people suffering from Hansen’s disease and tuberculosis.

For more information, contact North American distributor The Coin & Currency Institute, Inc. by mail at P.O. Box 1057, Clifton, NJ 07014; by phone at (800) 421-1866; by fax at (973) 471-1441; or by e-mail at mail@coin-currency.com. Shipping and handling is $5.50 per order. Coins are available in Hawaii from Alii Coin & Currency. The company can be reached by phone at (808) 236-2646. The Royal Belgian Mint may be contacted by e-mail at mrb.kmb@minfin.fed.be
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Over 134,000 infected with leprosy in 2008-09

New Delhi, India: Nov. 24th: There were over 134,000 new leprosy infections in 2008-09 but the number is slowly decreasing in India, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday.

"Leprosy related cases are not rising in the country. On the contrary, the reported cases are declining over the years," Azad said adding that his ministry has taken several steps to reduce the burden of this ailment. According to health ministry data, 260,000 leprosy cases were reported in the country during 2004-05. The year after the cases sharply dropped to 161,457 but there after the decline is relatively slow. While 139,252 cases were reported in 2006-07, in 2007-08, the number of new infections was 137,685.

In the last financial year (2008-09), 134,181 new people were infected by the disease which causes deformity in limbs and renders one handicapped. The minister said that under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme, several steps have been taken to treat and rehabilitate these patients. He said all primary health care centres and government dispensaries have been asked to provide medicine free of cost to them.

"(Government is) providing funds for non-constructive surgery services to leprosy affected persons free of cost for disability correction," Azad added.

Medical Blog: December 1st: - On 25 January 2010, an appeal will be made to the world to end the stigma which blights the lives of millions of people affected by leprosy. Launching from Mumbai in India, a country where the leprosy burden is the largest in the world and where 134,000 new cases of the disease were detected last year, the Global Appeal 2010 will be endorsed by figures from the corporate world willing to demonstrate their concern for this denial of human rights.
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Oct. 10th - Basilica sopra Minerva

On Oct 10th, the evening before the Canosation of Fr. Damien, his religious family and the pilgrims who had travelled to Rome, came together for a Prayer/Adoraton Service. The video shows highlights of the service. For the best Internet Blog on St. Damien see www.leperpriest.blogspot.com

Oct. 12th - Damien Canonisation - Basilica of St John Lateran

On Monday Oct. 12th. the day following the Canonisation of Fr. Damien de Veuster in Rome, the Damien pilgrims gathered at the Bascilica of St. John Lateran for a Mass of Thanksgiving led by Cardinal Danniels of Malines/Brussells.

Inspirational Video

Two clips from this new inspiritional video using the words of Damien and reflecting on what motivated Damien in giving of himself for the sake of his lepers.

The 46 min video is available at a cost of $30/€21 from eamonmoz@gmail.com

Louvain Celebrations

Louvain, Belgium October 17th. - With the announcement of the date of Damien's canonization we began to organize the celebration of this great event in the city of Louvain. At the beginning, the idea began to circulate of the Damien Today project. The announcement of the Damien Year was one of the first initiatives. Elsewhere, the dean’s office in Louvain and the City council, also started talking about it. Along the way the government of the Flemish province of Brabant joined in as well. There were different dates and ideas, but in a joint meeting between the three parties, it was agreed that there would be a single celebration on October 17th. For the Congregation this date was ideal because brothers and sisters who were in Europe on the occasion of the canonization could be present. Meetings were arranged, everything was arrnged to the last detail, e-mails from the dean’s office did not stop arriving. Plan B was talked about in case of rain. The city government was fully at the disposal of the organizers of the celebration. The preparation was so thorough that nothing could go wrong.
The city was decked out in the days before the celebration with flags and banners with the phrase: DAMIAN INSPIRES. Photos of Damian, particularly those relating to his remains being brought to Belgium were exhibited at strategic points. Louvain became DAMIAN CITY.
The 17th arrived. Movement was already felt from days before in the Damien Centre with the arrival of vestments for the celebrants, about 80 including 30 Picpus Fathers and international guests. Sometimes we looked with some concern at the sky. A little rain and a cloud make us consider Plan B. But in the end the weather was nice, then came the event.
With everything ready at half past four in the afternoon the procession started to take us from the Damien Center to the church of San Pedro, in the heart of Louvain. A large photo of Damian was carried on the shoulders of a group of scouts, two brass bands, a group carried the Tremolo flags, a group from French Polynesia, and a long line of priests, among others, formed the procession that was intended to recall the journey that the remains of Damian took in Louvain in 1936. The Vicar General of Malines-Brussels Archdiocese presided over the celebration, accompanied by the Superior General of the Congregation and the Dean of Louvain.
Once in the church of St. Peter, full to the brim, the first part of the celebration began, a liturgy of the word and the explanation of why we were there: in 1936, Damien's body spent the night in that church, where tribute was made before being transferred to the Church of the Picpus Fathers. The procession resumed its journey, going through the streets of Brussels, towards the church of St. James, where there is a statue dedicated to Fr. Damian, the first in Belgium. There the mayor of the city paid tribute to Damien, apologizing because maybe it was not Damian's will to be away from his brothers and sisters in Molokai, but the fact of having Damian in the city, reminded the mayor, is a wakeup call for us to remember and live the values that he lived, especially tolerance and giving to the marginalized. Some children also read their stories and impressions about Damian.
After the wreath was placed, the procession moved on again, in the direction of Damien Square, opposite the chapel of San Antonio, Church of the Picpus Fathers in Louvain, where Damien's tomb is. Along the way, perhaps it was not the same crowd as in 1936, but the faces present in the audience were very diverse and also their reactions. At the entrance to the Square, the priests went to a nearby parking lot to make way for the people who came behind the group, far more than expected.
At seven o'clock in the afternoon the third part of the celebration began. A word of welcome by Father Francis Gorissen, provincial of the Picpus Fathers in Flanders, put the celebration in context: the church in this square witnessed the entry of young Joseph De Veuster to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in 1859. He must have prayed in it many times. And from this place brother Damian left for the missions in the Sandwich Islands in 1863, stopping in Paris and Bremen. At the celebration, excerpts of letters from Damien were read in French, Netherlands and English, languages in which he communicated with his superiors, his family and friends. A trumpet, a hammer, a bottle of medicine, a cross and a coat reminded us how Damien gave back lost joy, built houses and coffins, healed the sick, spoke of God's love for the small and unprotected and was a sign of welcome for the lepers of Molokai. As a gesture of solidarity, the collection of the celebration was given for a project of the SS.CC. sisters in Mozambique that targets vulnerable people affected by AIDS. Despite the intense cold, more than 2000 people stayed until the final conclusion. The Superior-General thanked the city and the local church for the celebration; He did this in Spanish with the efficient translation of Frits Gorissen. Subsequently, the Superior General, gave her thanks as well. A word from them in Flemish would not have been a bad thing.
Then everyone was invited to go to visit the final resting place of St. Joseph Damien De Veuster, the official name of Father Damien for us all. A small reception at City Hall ended the day.
Juan Carlos Tinjaca, ss.cc.
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Celebrations at Tremeloo

Tremeloo, Belgium: October 4th: - The village of Tremeloo had the honour of opening the festivities in Belgium around the canonization of Father Damien.

On Sunday, October 4th I was among two thousand other "fans" of Damien in a large tent near the birthplace to celebrate the Eucharist which was presided by Cardinal Danneels in the presence of bishop Silva from Honolulu and Mgr. Berloco, the apostolic nuncio. With King Albert II and Queen Paola, there were many political figures of our country, but also many foreigners, including a group of 400 Hawaiians who gave colour to the assembly with their costumes, songs and “lei” that they offered to the priests and the royal couple. The Cardinal in his homily referred to the birthplace of the new Saint. but especially insisted on the fact of what this Saint has given to us. “What made Damien a saint? questioned the cardinal, “people? No, it was God did it”. This primate of the Belgian Church invited us to be thankful and appealed to the people that we must learn to pray and not only admire this heroic man, soon to be “Saint Damien of Molokai”. The Cardinal finally addressed the Hawaiians by thanking them. “Because”, he said “we gave birth to Damien so that he could come home. But you have given us as a Saint”.

This celebration described by newspapers as “a wonderful event” ended by an interview with Mad. Toguchi showing her gratitude to God who, through Damien wanted to be concerned about a "modest woman" such as she is. The miraculously cured woman told me later that she gave thanks for having known Father Damien SS.CC. thanks to the sisters present during her youth in her school in Hawaii.

Following this celebration the cardinal inaugurated a new statue of Damien in the garden of his birthplace. During the afternoon we participated in a bringing to mind the various stages in the life of Damien expressed through songs, dances and stories. The day continued with festivities, which included the whole village where our SS.CC. sisters and brothers discovered the Belgian style of popular festivity.
Sr. Hilde Reynders, ss.cc.
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Students on Plgrimage

Louvain, Belgium: Oct. 1st: - On Thursday, October 1st about 1400 students and 180 teachers from the school “Damiaaninstituut” Aarschot set off to officially hand over to the Picpus fathers boxes which they had made to hold the relics of Father Damien.

After travelling the 20 km between Louvain and Aarschot, the young people all dressed in T-shirts decorated with a large picture of Father Damien, crossed the city on foot to reach Damien Square opposite the Chapel of St. Anthony. This journey symbolized the distance between Tremolo and Molokai.

Fr Frits Gorissen, provincial of the brothers in Flanders, and several brothers welcomed the young people and expressed his joy and gratitude for this collaboration for the canonization of Damien. Before blessing the two boxes Father Frits explained to the young people that a relic serves as a sign to keep alive the memory and spirit of the life of the saint who is venerated. Within this festive environment the assembly listened with great respect. Several young people had the opportunity to say before the cameras and the many journalists what Father Damien meant in their own lives. The director of Damiaaninstituut thanked all the students and teachers and explained how his school will continue in concrete ways this year which had given them a true patron Saint of the school.

At the end of this celebration, before the procession set off again to Aarschot, someone dressed as Father Damien made a final speech to young people. “Being a saint or being the greatest Belgian was of little interest to Damien”, he said. “The only thing that Damien asks is that you continue his work”.

Challenged by these words, the 1400 young people paid their respects once again to the relics of their future patron Saint future. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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