Father Damien
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2008-07-16T16:53:51Z
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The Gandhi statement doesn't need its own section...
{{Infobox Saint
|name=Blessed Damien of Molokai
|birth_date={{birth date|1840|1|3|mf=y}}
|death_date={{death date and age|1889|4|15|1840|1|3|mf=y}}
|feast_day=[[May 10]] (universal); [[April 15]] (in Hawaii)
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]]; [[Anglican Communion]]; individual [[Lutheran Church]]es
|image=FatherDamien.jpeg
|imagesize=250px
|caption=Blessed Damien was a [[Roman Catholic]] [[missionary]] who helped [[lepers]] on the [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaiian]] island of [[Molokai]] and also died of the disease.
|birth_place=[[Tremelo]], [[Belgium]]
|death_place=[[Kalaupapa]], [[Molokai]], [[Hawaii]]
|titles=Confessor; Leper Priest; Greatest Belgian
|beatified_date=[[June 4]], [[1995]]
|beatified_place=[[Rome]]
|beatified_by=[[Pope John Paul II]]
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=[[Confessor#Confessor of the Faith|Confessor]]; [[Missionary]]; [[leprosy]]; [[tree]] and [[dove]]
|patronage=people with [[leprosy]], outcasts, those with [[HIV/AIDS]], the [[Hawaii|State of Hawaii]].
|major_shrine=[[Leuven]], [[Belgium]] (bodily [[relic]]s); [[Maui]], [[Hawaii]] (relics of his hand)
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
|prayer=
}}
'''Blessed Damien de Veuster''' ([[January 3]], [[1840]] – [[April 15]], [[1889]]), born '''Jozef de Veuster''' and also known as '''Blessed Damien of Molokai''', was a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[priest]] from [[Belgium]] and member of the [[Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary]], a [[missionary]] [[religious order]].
Father Damien is known for his love of and ministering to people with what was then widely known as [[leprosy]], forced by government-sanctioned medical quarantine, living on the island of [[Molokai]] in the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]].<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20011223/ai_n10737207 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article from December 23, 2001]</ref> He eventually contracted the disease himself, and is widely considered a "martyr of charity". In the Roman Catholic and [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] traditions, as well as other denominations of [[Christianity]], Damien is considered the spiritual patron for [[Hansen's Disease]], [[HIV]] and [[AIDS]] patients as well as outcasts. As the [[patron saint]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu]] and of [[Hawaii]], Father Damien Day is celebrated statewide on [[April 15]]. Upon his [[beatification]] by [[Pope John Paul II]] in Rome on [[June 4]], [[1995]], Blessed Damien was granted a memorial feast day, which is celebrated on [[May 10]].
Several memorials have been made to Damien worldwide. The [[Father Damien Statue]] honors the priest in bronze at the [[United States Capitol]] while a full size replica stands in front of the [[Hawaii State Capitol]]. In [[2005]], Damien was honored with the title of [[De Grootste Belg]], chosen as ''The Greatest Belgian'' throughout Belgian history in polling conducted by the Flemish public broadcasting service, [[Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep|VRT]].<ref>[http://www.degrootstebelg.be/dgb_master/nieuws/dgb_damiaandegrootste/index.shtml De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian) official article]</ref>
In both [[ecumenical]] religious and [[non-sectarian]] communities, Damien is being adopted as the symbol of how society should treat HIV/AIDS patients in defiance of the misconceptions of the disease, much like leprosy treatment was an outgrowth of misconceptions. Several Damien Centers have been established worldwide to serve people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.<ref>[http://www.damien.org/history.php Damien Center History]</ref>
== Early life ==
Damien was born Jozef ("Jef") de Veuster, the seventh child of the corn merchant Frans de Veuster and his wife Cato Wouters in the village of [[Tremelo]] in [[Flemish Brabant]]. He attended college at [[Braine-le-Comte]], then entered the [[novitiate]] of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in [[Leuven]], taking the name of Damianus (Damiaan in Dutch) in his first vows, probably after [[Saints Cosmas and Damian|Saint Damian]].<ref>[http://www.damiaanactie.be/damiaan/biografie_volledig-jeugd.cfm Biography (in Flemish)]</ref> Following in his brother's footsteps, Damien became a [[Picpus Brother]] on [[October 7]], [[1860]]. His brother could not fulfill his dream of traveling overseas to actively participate in missionary work. Damien took up his brother's dream as his own and went in his place on a mission abroad.
[[Image:Belgie tremelo damiaan.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Birth place'']]
== Mission to Hawaii ==
On [[March 19]], [[1864]], Father Damien landed at [[Honolulu Harbor]] in [[downtown Honolulu]] as a missionary. There, Damien was ordained to the priesthood on [[May 21]], [[1864]] at the [[Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace]], a church established by his religious order.<ref>Date of ordination given in Hilde Eynikel's, "Damiaan." Leuven: Davidsfonds, 1997. p. 82. ISBN 9061525861.</ref> He served in several parishes on the island of [[Oahu]] just as the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]] faced a public health crisis.
The [[Native Hawaiians]] became afflicted by diseases inadvertently introduced to the [[Hawaiian Islands]] by foreign traders and sailors. Thousands died of [[influenza]], [[syphilis]] and other ailments which had never before affected Hawaiians. This included the plight of leprosy, today called [[Hansen's disease]]. Fearful of its spread, [[Kamehameha V|King Kamehameha V]] quarantined the lepers of the kingdom and moved them to a settlement colony on the north side of the island of Molokai. The Royal Board of Health provided them with supplies and food but did not yet have the resources to offer proper healthcare. In 1865, Father Damien was assigned to the [[Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi|Catholic Mission in North Kohala]] on the island of Hawai‘i. While [[Louis Desiré Maigret|Monsignor Louis Maigret]], vicar apostolic, believed that the lepers at the very least needed a priest to minister to their needs, he realized that this assignment could potentially be a [[death sentence]]. After prayerful thought, Damien asked Monsignor Maigret for permission to go to Moloka‘i.
== Colony of death ==
[[Image:fatherdamienwithlepers.jpg|thumb|300px|''Father Damien,'' seen here with the Kalawao Girls Choir during the 1870s, took on the role of priest and doctor to lepers in settlement colonies.]]
[[Image:Kalawao Catholic church.jpg|thumb|right|''Father Damien's Church at Kalawao.'']]
On [[May 10]], [[1873]], Father Damien arrived at the secluded settlement at [[Kalaupapa]]. Bishop Maigret presented Damien to the colonists as "one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you." The settlement was surrounded by an impregnable mountain ridge. There were 816 lepers living at Kalaupapa. Damien's first course of action was to build a church and establish the Parish of Saint [[Philomena]].
[[University of Hawaii System]] [[history|historians]] working with the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu|Hawaii Catholic Church]] to archive its history agree that Damien was the only one in a position to provide comfort for the people of Kalaupapa. His role was not limited to being a priest; he took on the role of doctor as well. He dressed ulcers, built homes and beds. Damien even built coffins and dug graves.
[[Sociologists]] argued before the [[Roman Curia]] in proceedings for [[sainthood]] that Damien was sent to a morally deprived, lawless "colony of death" where people were forced to fight each other to survive. The kingdom didn't plan the settlement to be in such disarray but the government's neglect in providing much needed resources and medical help created the chaos. Damien's arrival is seen as a turning point for the community. Under his leadership, basic laws were enforced, shacks became painted houses, working farms were organized and schools were erected.
His symbols are a tree and a dove.
== Death ==
[[Image:fatherdamiendead.jpg|thumb|300px|''Father Damien'' died on [[April 15]], [[1889]]. <small>This photograph shows Mother Marianne Cope standing beside his body</small>]]
As indicated in his diaries, in December 1884 Damien went about his evening ritual of soaking his feet in boiling water. He could not feel the heat; he had contracted leprosy. Despite this discovery, residents say that Damien worked vigorously to build as many homes as he could and planned for the continuation of the programs he created after he was gone.
With the flurry of activity, four strangers came to Kalaupapa in search of Damien to help the ailing missionary. Louis Lambert Conrardy was a Belgian priest. [[Mother Marianne Cope]] was Superior of the Franciscan Sisters of [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]]. Joseph Dutton was an [[American Civil War]] soldier who left behind a marriage broken because of [[alcoholism]]. James Sinnett was a nurse from [[Chicago]]. Conrardy took up pastoral duties while Cope organized a working hospital. Dutton attended to the construction and maintenance of the community's buildings. Sinnett nursed Damien in the last phases of the disease, closing his eyes upon Father Damien's death at the age of 49 from leprosy. He was originally buried on Molokai, but in 1936, the Belgian government asked for the return of his body, which was brought back to Belgium on the ship ''[[Mercator (ship)|Mercator]]'' and which is now buried in [[Leuven]], a city close to the village where he was born.
== Order of Kalakaua ==
[[Image:Kalawao Catholic church inside.jpg|thumb|right|''Altar of the Kalawao Catholic Church.'']]
[[David Kalakaua|King David Kalakaua]] bestowed on Damien the honor Knight Commander of the [[Royal Order of Kalakaua]]. When [[Liliuokalani|Princess Lydia Liliuokalani]] visited the settlement to present the medal, she was reported as having been too distraught and heartbroken to read her speech. The princess shared her experience with the world and publicly acclaimed Damien's efforts. Consequently, Damien's name was spread across the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. American [[Protestantism|Protestants]] raised large sums of money for the missionary. The [[Church of England]] sent food, medicine, clothing and supplies. It is believed that Damien never wore the medal given to him.
== Criticism and commentary ==
Upon his death, a global discussion arose as to the mysteries of Damien's life and his work on the island of Molokai. Much criticism came especially out of the [[Congregational church|Congregational]] and [[Presbyterian]] churches in Hawaii. It has been argued for decades that these church leaders took a stance against Damien merely out of spite for Catholicism in general. They derided Damien as a "false shepherd" who was driven by personal ambition and ego. The most famous treatise published against Damien was by a Honolulu Presbyterian, Reverend C. M. Hyde, in a letter dated [[August 2]], [[1889]] to a fellow pastor, Reverend H. B. Gage. Reverend Hyde wrote:
[[Image:fatherdamiengrave.jpg|thumb|300px|Following ''Father Damien's'' death the lepers of Molokai gathered around his grave in mourning.]]
[[Image:Father Damien grave.jpg|thumb|300px|''Father Damien's original grave as it looks today.'']]
<blockquote>In answer to your inquiries about Father Damien, I can only reply that we who knew the man are surprised at the extravagant newspaper laudations, as if he was a most saintly philanthropist. The simple truth is, he was a coarse, dirty man, head-strong and bigoted. He was not sent to Molokai, but went there without orders; did not stay at the leper settlement (before he became one himself), but circulated freely over the whole island (less than half the island is devoted to the lepers), and he came often to Honolulu. He had no hand in the reforms and improvements inaugurated, which were the work of our Board of Health, as occasion required and means were provided. He was not a pure man in his relations with women, and the leprosy of which he died should be attributed to his vices and carelessness. Others have done much for the lepers, our own ministers, the government physicians, and so forth, but never with the Catholic idea of meriting eternal life.<ref name="letter"> [http://web.archive.org/web/20050207115024/http://praiseofglory.com/rlsdamien.htm Robert Louis Stevenson, ''Father Damien. An Open Letter to the Reverend Dr. Hyde of Honolulu'']</ref> </blockquote>
Having read the letter, [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[author]] [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], also a Presbyterian, drafted an equally famous treatise dated [[February 25]], [[1890]] as a rebuttal in defense of Damien. Stevenson derided Reverend Hyde for creating gossip to support his blatant [[anti-Catholic]] agenda. Prior to writing his treatise, Stevenson stayed in Molokai for eight days and seven nights, during which he kept a diary.<ref name="letter"/>
Stevenson wrote:
<blockquote>When we have failed, and another has succeeded; when we have stood by, and another has stepped in; when we sit and grow bulky in our charming mansions, and a plain, uncouth peasant steps into the battle, under the eyes of God, and succours the afflicted, and consoles the dying, and is himself afflicted in his turn, and dies upon the field of honour—the battle cannot be retrieved as your unhappy irritation has suggested. It is a lost battle, and lost for ever.<ref name="letter"/></blockquote>
In addition to calling Reverend Hyde a "crank," Stevenson answered his criticisms point by point.<ref name="letter"/> For example:
<blockquote>''Damien WAS NOT SENT TO MOLOKAI, BUT WENT THERE WITHOUT ORDERS.''</blockquote>
<blockquote>Is this a misreading? or do you really mean the words for blame? I have heard Christ, in the pulpits of our Church, held up for imitation on the ground that His sacrifice was voluntary. Does Dr. Hyde think otherwise?<ref name="letter"/></blockquote>
In Molokai, Stevenson had sought testimony from Protestant residents about Damien, which he recorded in his diary. The treatise included some extracts, such as:
<blockquote>'He seems to have been a man of the peasant class, certainly of the peasant type: shrewd, ignorant and bigoted, yet with an open mind, and capable of receiving and digesting a reproof if it were bluntly administered; superbly generous in the least thing as well as in the greatest, and as ready to give his last shirt (although not without human grumbling) as he had been to sacrifice his life; essentially indiscreet and officious, which made him a troublesome colleague; domineering in all his ways, which made him incurably unpopular with the Kanakas, but yet destitute of real authority, so that his boys laughed at him and he must carry out his wishes by the means of bribes.'<ref name="letter"/></blockquote>
Stevenson follows:
<blockquote>...I have set down these private passages, as you perceive, without correction; thanks to you, the public has them in their bluntness. They are almost a list of the man's faults, for it is rather these that I was seeking: with his virtues, with the heroic profile of his life, I and the world were already sufficiently acquainted. ...Yet I am strangely deceived, or they build up the image of a man, with all his weakness, essentially heroic, and alive with rugged honesty, generosity, and mirth.<ref name="letter"/></blockquote>
In the process of examining Damien's fitness for beatification and canonization, the Roman Curia pored over a great deal of documentation of published and unpublished criticisms against the missionary's life and work. Diaries and interviews were scoured and debated. In the end it was found that what Stevenson called "heroism" was indeed genuine.
[[Mahatma Gandhi]] offered his own defense of Father Damien's life and work. Gandhi claimed Damien to have been an inspiration for his social campaigns in [[India]] that led to the freedom of his people and secured aid for those that needed it. Gandhi was quoted in M.S. Mehendale’s [[1971]] account called ''"Gandhi Looks at Leprosy"'' as saying, ''"The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Moloka'i. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism."''<ref>[http://www.georgefox.edu/academics/undergrad/departments/theatre/damien/ Damien - home<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Canonization process==
[[Image:Statue of Father Damien 3.jpeg|thumb|right|''This statue of Father Damien sits outside the entrance to the Hawaii State Capitol Building on the island of [[Oahu]].'']]
Two miracles attributed to Father Damien (posthumously) have been documented:
On June 13, 1992, Pope John Paul II approved the cure of a nun in France in 1895 as a miracle attributed to Venerable Damien’s [[intercession]]. In that case, Sister Simplicia Hue begun a [[novena]] to Father Damien as she lay dying of a lingering intestinal illness. The pain and symptoms of the illness disappeared overnight. In the second case, a Hawaiian woman who suffered from cancer found, after she prayed at the grave of Father Damien on Molokai, that it had completely disappeared.<ref>[http://www.hawaiicatholicherald.org/BlessedDamien/tabid/311/newsid916/418/Default.aspx ''Tribunal to examine Blessed Damien miracle claim'']</ref> However, it was surprisingly disclosed in July 2008 that "In 1997, (the Hawaiian woman) was diagnosed with liposarcoma, a cancer that arises in fat cells. She underwent surgery a year later. A tumor the size of a fist was removed from the side of her left thigh and buttock." .<ref>Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 4, 2008</ref> This contasted with a widely quoted 2003 story that "She had absolutely no treatment, not even a diet".<ref>Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 29, 2003</ref>
On [[June 4]], [[1995]], Pope John Paul II [[beatified]] Father Damien and gave him his official spiritual title of [[Blessed]]. On [[December 20]], [[1999]], [[Jorge Medina Estévez]], Prefect of the [[Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments]], confirmed the November 1999 decision of the [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] to place Blessed Damien on the liturgical calendar with the rank of optional memorial. His [[feast Day]] is celebrated on [[May 10]]. In Hawaii, it is celebrated on the day of his death, [[April 15]].
In April of 2008, [[The Holy See]] ruled that Father Damien was indeed responsible for two miracles attributed to him. On [[June 2]], [[2008]], The Congregation of the Causes of Saints at the Vatican voted to recommend raising Father Damien of Molokai to sainthood. The decree that officially notes and verifies the miracle needed for canonization was promulgated by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] and [[Jose Cardinal Saraiva Martins]] on Thursday, [[July 3]], [[2008]], with the ceremony taking place in Rome, with celebrations in Belgium and Hawaii. <ref>[http://www.kitv.com/news/16763324/detail.html ''Vatican Elevates Father Damien To Sainthood'']</ref>
In Blessed Damien's role as the unofficial patron of those with HIV and AIDS, the world's only Roman Catholic memorial chapel to those who have died of this disease, at the [[Église Saint-Pierre-Apôtre]] in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]] is consecrated to him.
== In culture ==
The one-man play ''"[[Damien (play)|Damien]],"'' written by [[Aldyth Morris]] and first performed in [[1976]], tells the story of Damien's life in the first person through a series of flashbacks. A performance starring [[Terence Knapp]] was broadcast on [[PBS]] in [[1978]] and again in [[1986]].
Father Damien was portrayed in [[1980]] by [[Ken Howard]] in the television film ''"[[Father Damien: Leper Priest]]."''<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080590/ Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB): ''Father Damien: Leper Priest'']</ref>
After the beatification of Blessed Damien, Belgian [[film producer]] Tharsi Vanhuysse was inspired to lead a project honoring the famous priest. Vanhuysse teamed with film producer Grietje Lammertyn of ERA Films and searched for screenwriter, director and lesser known actors. Australian [[David Wenham]] was chosen to play the lead. Another Australian, [[Paul Cox]], was selected to direct the project. Previously, he had completed an independent movie about the artist [[Vincent van Gogh]]. American [[John Briley]] wrote the screenplay. Briley was an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] winner for writing the screenplay for ''"[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]."'' He also worked on the movie, ''"[[Cry Freedom]]."'' Other actors in the movie entitled ''"[[Molokai: The Story of Father Damien]]"'' include [[Derek Jacobi]], [[Kris Kristofferson]], [[Sam Neill]], [[Tom Wilkinson (actor)|Tom Wilkinson]] and [[Peter O'Toole]]. The movie was released on [[March 17]], [[2000]].<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165196 Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB): ''Molokai: The Story of Father Damien'']</ref>
[[Image:FrDamienSm.jpg|thumb|175px|''This reredos of an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal-Anglican Church]] in [[Hollywood, California]] shows the cross-denominational [[veneration]] of Blessed Damien of Molokai.'' <small>''[[St. Thomas the Apostle Hollywood|St. Thomas the Apostle Church's]] Damien Chapel.'']]</small>
== References ==
{{ref-list}}
== Sources ==
*[[Gavan Daws]], ''Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai'', University of Hawai'i Press, 1994.
*Hilde Eynikel, ''Molokai: The Story of Father Damien'', Alba House: 1999.
*Richard Stewart, "Leper Priest of Moloka'i: The Father Damien Story," University of Hawaii Press: 2001.
== External links ==
*[http://www.damienministries.org ''Damien Ministries''], [[Washington]], [[DC]]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050207115024/http://praiseofglory.com/rlsdamien.htm Robert Louis Stevenson, ''Father Damian. An Open Letter to the Reverend Dr. Hyde of Honolulu'']
*[http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/damien.cfm Architect of the Capitol Biography of Blessed Damien]
*[http://cathedralofourladyofpeace.com/ Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace: ''Biography of Damien'']
*[http://www3.damien.edu/damien/damien.html Damien Memorial High School Biography of Damien]
*[http://www.damien-hs.edu Damien High School], [[La Verne]], [[California]]
*[http://www.state.hi.us/about/damien.htm ''Hawaii State Government Biography of Damien'']
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04615a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: ''Father Damien'']
*[http://www.nps.gov/kala/docs/start.htm Kalaupapa National Historic Park] - about the human and natural community of Father Damien's work
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165196/ Molokai: The Story of Father Damien] - IMDB.com's article about the movie
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10444a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: ''Molokai'']
*[http://www.thedamienhouse.org/ Non-profit Organization to suport Leprosy Patients]
*[http://www.saintthomashollywood.org/stthomas/page.php?ref=damienchapel&ts_hld=parish ''Damien Chapel''], [[Hollywood]], [[California]]
* [http://www.thedamienhouse.org ''Damien House Foundation''], [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]
* [http://www.damienhouse.net ''Damien House''], [[Cootehill]], [[Ireland]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Damien, Father}}
[[Category:1840 births]]
[[Category:1889 deaths]]
[[Category:Flemish priests]]
[[Category:Belgian saints]]
[[Category:Belgian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Belgian Americans]]
[[Category:Hawaii Catholic priests]]
[[Category:Humanitarians]]
[[Category:Picpus Fathers]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic missionaries]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu]]
[[Category:People from Hawaii]]
[[Category:Leprosy]]
[[Category:Christian missionaries in Hawaii]]
[[cs:Otec malomocných]]
[[de:Damian de Veuster]]
[[es:Damián de Veuster]]
[[eo:Patro Damiano]]
[[fr:Père Damien]]
[[ko:다미엥]]
[[it:Damiano de Veuster]]
[[la:Damianus Molocaiensis]]
[[ml:ഫാദര് ഡാമിയന്]]
[[nl:Pater Damiaan]]
[[ja:ダミアン神父]]
[[no:Damian de Veuster]]
[[pl:Ojciec Damian]]
[[simple:Father Damien]]
[[sv:Fader Damien]]