Father Damian - A Man Who Amassed Great Spiritual Treasure

He was a man who amassed great spiritual treasure on earth. In 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified Father Damien with the title, "Blessed Damien," the second of three steps before his canonization as a saint. Father Damien obtained government aid for them and encouraged agriculture and local industry on the island. After twelve years on the island of Molokai he contracted leprosy himself, Father Damien continued his labours until he was helpless and passed away shortly after fifteen years of work with the lepers of Molokai.

Conditions there were deplorable, with lack of proper housing, medical aid, and sanitary conditions. He helped dressed their ulcers, erect cottages, even dig their graves and build their coffins. Father Damien devoted himself entirely to the spiritual and physical care of the lepers, he not only administered the teaching of the religion, but also helped the lepers with little medical services and providing them with comfort. In 1873, in an act of compassion, he volunteered to bring spiritual guidance and comfort to the abandoned lepers of Kalaupapa on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. ater on in his life; however as a result of a mission given by the Redemptorists in 1858 he decided to become a religious instead.

He entered the novitiate of the Fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary at Louvain. There he took in the religious name of Damien. By the 7th of October 1860 he was admitted to the religious profession.

Today the remote northern peninsula of Kalaupapa is a National Historic Site, an area of breathtaking cliffs and beauty.