Damien of Molokai

About Damien of Molokai

Damien de Veuster was a Belgian priest who volunteered to minister to the leper colony on Molokai, Hawaii. For 16 years, he served the abandoned lepers, building houses, churches, schools, and caring for the dying. He contracted leprosy himself, saying in a sermon: "We lepers." He died from the disease in 1889. His self-sacrificing love made him a hero of charity. Canonized 2009.