St damians biography

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St. Damien of Molokai

Introduction

Every age has its stories of heroic men and women whose faith challenges them to reach out in heroic love and service to alleviate the sufferings of their brothers and sisters.

This is the story of one such hero. He was born Joseph De Veuster, a Belgian farm boy. He is known now to all the world as Damien the Leper. His bronze figure graces the statuary hall in Washington, D.C.

Damien's compassion for the lepers led him to spend sixteen years in the "living graveyard that was Molokai," where he died at the age of forty-nine in service to people suffering from the terrible disease of leprosy.

Damien never lost sight of his life's purpose, despite the many difficulties and sufferings he bore. It was only his faith that enabled him to endure the trials that his life's work caused him.

We hope that you enjoy this story and find it a source of strength and encouragement.

The Fate

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Father Damien
Belgian Roman Catholic priest and saint (–)
Not to be confused with Father Damien Karras.
For other people with similar names, see Father Damien (disambiguation), Saint Damien (disambiguation), and Peter Damian.
Saint

Damien of Molokai

SSCC
A photograph of Father Damien taken shortly before his death
Born ()3 January
Tremelo, Brabant, Belgium
Died 15 April () (aged&#;49)
Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Venerated&#;in Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, some churches of Anglican Communion; individual Lutheran Churches
Beatified 4 June , Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Koekelberg), Brussels, by Pope John Paul II
Canonized 11 October , Vatican City, by Pope Benedict XVI
Major shrine Leuven, Belgium (bodily relics)
Molokaʻi, Hawaii (relics of his hand)
Feast 10 May (Catholic Church; obligatory in Hawaii, option in the rest of the United States);^[1] 15 April (Episcopal Church of the United States)
Patr
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St. Damien of Moloka&#;iFeast day: May 10
The Catholic Church remembers St. Damien of Molokai on May The Belgian präst sacrificed his life and health to become a spiritual father to the victims of leprosy quarantined on a Hawaiian island.
Joseph de Veuser, who later took the name Damien in religious life, was born into a farming family in the Belgian town of Tremlo in During his youth he felt a calling to become a Catholic missionär, an urge that prompted him to join the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Damien's sista vows to the congregation involved a dramatic ceremony in which his superiors draped him in the cloth that would be used to cover his coffin after death. The custom was meant to symbolize the young man's solemn commitment, and his identification with Christ's own death. For Damien, the event would become more significant, as he would go on to lay down his life for the lepers of Molokai.
His superiors originally intended to send Damien's broth

Saint Damien of Molokai SSCC
A photograph of Father Damien taken shortly before his death
Born	()3 January Tremelo, Brabant, Belgium
Died	15 April () (aged&#;49) Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Venerated&#;in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, some churches of Anglican Communion; individual Lutheran Churches
Beatified	4 June , Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Koekelberg), Brussels, by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	11 October , Vatican City, by Pope Benedict XVI
Major shrine	Leuven, Belgium (bodily relics) Molokaʻi, Hawaii (relics of his hand)
Feast	10 May (Catholic Church; obligatory in Hawaii, option in the rest of the United States);^[1] 15 April (Episcopal Church of the United States)
Patr • St. Damien of Moloka&#;iFeast day: May 10 The Catholic Church remembers St. Damien of Molokai on May The Belgian präst sacrificed his life and health to become a spiritual father to the victims of leprosy quarantined on a Hawaiian island. Joseph de Veuser, who later took the name Damien in religious life, was born into a farming family in the Belgian town of Tremlo in During his youth he felt a calling to become a Catholic missionär, an urge that prompted him to join the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Damien's sista vows to the congregation involved a dramatic ceremony in which his superiors draped him in the cloth that would be used to cover his coffin after death. The custom was meant to symbolize the young man's solemn commitment, and his identification with Christ's own death. For Damien, the event would become more significant, as he would go on to lay down his life for the lepers of Molokai. His superiors originally intended to send Damien's broth