Birth: 03.01.1840
Death: 15.04.1889
City: Tremelo
Country: Belgium
Place of Vision: Hawaiian islands
Damien de Veuster, also called Father Damien, was born Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium. When he was 13 years old, he had to quit school and work on his family farm. At the age of 19, he joined the congregation of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and took the name Damien after a fourth-century physician and martyr. In 1863 his brother, who was to leave for a mission in the Hawaiian Islands, fell ill. Hence, Damien went in his brothers’ place and reached Honolulu in 1864, where he was ordained a priest.
The Hawaiian government used a harsh measure of quarantining people with leprosy on Molokai island to prevent its spread. Moved by the miserable condition of the lepers, Damien decided to serve the lepers. He wanted to take the good news to people who have been abandoned and treated badly by society. Six months after his arrival in Molokai, he wrote to his brother, “…. make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ.” He attended to the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of the lepers. He undertook several projects to provide basic amenities to those suffering from the disease. Soon, the quality of life of the lepers significantly improved with the establishment of churches, schools, and orphanages on the island.
Damien was deeply concerned about the salvation of souls especially that of the lepers. He made them understand that despite what the world thought of them, they were always precious in the eyes of God. Despite his ill health and warnings about contagion, his love for those people didn’t waver. After 11 years of service, he contracted leprosy. But he refused to leave the island for treatment. He continued to work for the betterment of lepers until he breathed his last in 1884.
