Hero of the Forgotten

When Jozef de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease. By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph also entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr, Damien.

When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii.

Ten years later, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Molokai as part of a team of chaplains, taking that assignment for three months each year. Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical, and spiritual needs.

In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. In his ministry on Molokai, Father Damien bandaged and comforted the leprosy patients, built hospitals, houses, chapels, and coffins. He organized picnics, educated the children, and ministered to the spiritual needs of all.

In his work with the patients who had been exiled, Father Damien reformed a settlement known for its lawlessness, filth, and despair into a community of individual respect, love, and laughter. He built a community of love and hope through his teaching and living of Jesus Christ's gospel message of unconditional love.

For 16 years, Damien administered to this leper colony. He then contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.

Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Molokai, and others thought he was crazy. The Church sees him as a saint who dedicated his life to helping others. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. There's a beautiful chapel in Hawaii. If you ever get to go, Saint Damien, pray for us.