Father Damien
One of the most important historical figures in Belgium is Father Damien. Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster (Dutch: Pater Damiaan or Heilige Damien van Molokai; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious institute. He was honored for his ministry in the Kingdom of Hawaii for individuals with leprosy (Hansen's disease) who lived in government-mandated medical quarantine in a community on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokai from 1873 until his death in 1889.
During this time, he taught the people of Hawaii about the Catholic faith. Father Damien also cared for the patients and trained community leaders to build houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. He healed the ulcers of the locals, built a reservoir, fashioned coffins, dug graves, shared pipes, and ate poi with them, providing both medical and emotional support.
Father Damien got leprosy after eleven years of caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of individuals in the leper colony. Despite the sickness, he persisted with his labor until his death on April 15, 1889. Father Damien also had tuberculosis, which worsened his condition, but others believe he volunteered in the first place because of his ailment. Father Damien has been dubbed a "charity martyr." In the Catholic Church, Damien De Veuster is regarded as a saint. Damien is regarded as the spiritual patron of leprosy and outcasts in the Anglican Communion and other Christian religions. Father Damien Day, which falls on April 15, is also a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii. Father Damien is the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu as well as the state of Hawaii. On October 11, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien. In the Catholic Encyclopedia, Libert H. Boeynaems refers to him as "the Apostle of the Lepers." The feast day of Damien De Veuster is May 10.
