Also known as
- Apostle to the Lepers
- Damian de Veuster
- Father Damien
Profile
Son of a small farmer. Studied at the college at Braine-le-Comte, Belgium. Joined the Picpus Fathers on 7 October 1860, taking the name Damien. Seminarian in Paris, France. Volunteered for missionary work while still in seminary, and was sent to Hawaii. Ordained in Honolulu on 24 May 1864. Missionary on islands where his single parish was the size of all of his native Belgium. Resident priest in the leper colony on Molokai where for years he worked alone to minister to the patients’ spiritual and medical needs. His work turned a wretched dump for the unwanted into a real community with the best treatment of the day, and patients who lived strong spiritual lives. He contracted leprosy in 1885, and though severely crippled by the disease, Father Damien worked until the end.
Born
- 15 April 1889 at Molokai, Hawaii from leprosy
- buried next to Saint Philomena Church, Molokai, Hawaii
- interred in the cathedral at Antwerp, Belgium in 1936
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Additional Information
- Apostle of the Lepers, by Mrs Lang
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Catholic Encyclopedia
- Catholic News Agency
- Catholic Online
- Eva K. Betz: Knight of Molokai (audio book)
- Find A Grave
- Google Map
- Hagiography Circle
- Heroes Every Child Should Know
- Historic Structure Report: Father Damien’s Church
- Kirken i Norge
- New Catholic Dictionary
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
- Saint Michael’s Center
- Santi e Beati
MLA Citation
- “Saint Joseph de Veuster“. Saints.SQPN.com. 15 April 2013. Web. 19 May 2013. <>