Saint Damien of Molokai (born Jozef De Veuster) was a Belgian Catholic priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary who is venerated as the patron saint of people with leprosy and outcasts. Born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, he volunteered in 1873 to serve the leper colony on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, after his brother fell ill there.
During his 16-year ministry until his death, he transformed the desolate settlement into a community by building homes, schools, roads, and churches, while providing medical care, digging graves, and treating patients with dignity. He famously declared, “I become a leper with lepers,” and contracted the disease himself in 1884, continuing his work until he died on April 15, 1889.
He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 4, 1995, and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. His Feast Day is celebrated on May 10, which is also an obligatory feast in Hawaii and a minor statewide holiday known as Father Damien Day. He is recognized as the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii.
Feast Day, May 10 Prayer:
Damien, brother on the journey, happy and generous missionary, who loved the Gospel more than your own life, who for love of Jesus left your family, your homeland, your security and your dreams.
Teach us to give our lives with joy like yours, to be in solidarity with the outcasts of our world, to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist as the source of our own commitment.
Help us to love to the very end and, in the strength of the Spirit, to persevere in compassion for the poor and forgotten so that we might be good disciples of Jesus and Mary.
Amen
