Damien, Father

(1840–89)

   Missionary and Philanthropist.

   Father Damien was born Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium. At the age of nineteen he joined the Fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. He worked as a missionary first in the Sandwich Isles and then in Hawaii. In 1873 he moved to the island of Molokai which had been isolated as a leper colony. Single-handedly he cared for both the spiritual and physical needs of the lepers. By 1885 he himself had caught the disease, but he continued with his self-imposed task until he was on the point of death. His dedication was not always appreciated by the secular and religious authorities, but it aroused considerable interest in the outside world. His work has proved an inspiration to many and he is the subject of many biographies, including one by Robert Louis Stevenson.

   Father Damien, Letters, edited by Father Pamphile (1889);

   R.L. Stevenson, Father Damien (1910).