Flora Cantábrica

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THE LEPER VOLUNTEER FOR LOVE»

-Father Damian
……………

He was born on January 3 at his parents’ farm in Tremeloo, Belgium. His baptismal name is José Veuster. He studied at Braine-le-Comte. He entered religious life with the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (SS.CC.), on October 7, 1860 and took the name Damien.

Being a novice in Paris he offered himself for the missions. The SS.CC. they had brought the Catholic Church to Hawaii and were still charged with supplying the priests. In 1864 he was sent to those islands and two months later, on May 24, he was ordained a priest in Honolulu, the capital.

His first parish was with the natives of Puno and Kohala, an arid and volcanic land where there was no church or any help. The extent of his territory is approximately that of all of Belgium, his homeland. He covered all that terrain without stopping before the great difficulties. He worked with his hands to build the church and earned the esteem of those people.
1873 MOLOKAI

A terrible leprosy epidemic broke out in Hawaii. Panic spread everywhere since it is a terrible disease in which the body of the patient slowly rots. There was no known cure.

The king issued a decree: all those who contract the disease must be isolated, taking them to a special colony for them on the island of Molokai. They had therefore to be separated forever from their family. Food and some supplies were brought to them but otherwise they were left there to their fate.

In 1873 the bishop of the islands was concerned with the spiritual care of lepers. But he understood that if he did send a priest to Molokai it would be with the provision that, under the new government regulations, he would have to stay there forever and almost certainly contract the disease.

he embarked with 50 lepers who were being sent to Molokai. His new parishioners were waiting for him on the beach in conditions of dire need and despair. In the appalling conditions he found in the colony, he only had refuge in a crude wooden chapel where his first act was to kneel down to pray. He spent that night cleaning it. He sadly listened to the laughter of the drunkards, the crying of the dying, the howls of the wild dogs that devoured the dead. There was no law or protection for anyone there. Children and women lived in fear of the frequent violence. People lived without hope and without peace. That place was considered hell on earth.

Father Damien transformed that hell with the power of divine love into a community of love and peace. For years he served alone as a holy priest taking care of both spiritual and bodily needs. Under his supervision, the church he named Santa Filomena, a hospital, an infirmary, a school, homes, etc., were built. His faith-filled dedication turned that abandoned place into an exemplary community where everyone was cared for with care.

Finally, in 1885, he contracted leprosy at the age of 49. Despite the progression of the disease, he refused to be transferred for treatment.

«Up to this moment I feel happy and content, and if they gave me the choice of leaving here cured, I would answer without hesitation: «I’ll stay with my lepers for the rest of my life.»

Despite great suffering and with his deformed body, he continued his ministry until the end of his life.
Pánfilo wrote to his brother on November 16, 1887, a few months before he died:

«I am still the only priest on Molokai. Father Columban and lately Father Wendelin Moellers are the only brothers I have seen for sixteen months. With so much to do, time seems very short; the joy and contentment of the heart that the Sacred Hearts lavish on me make me believe the happiest missionary in the world.This is the sacrifice of my health, which God has wanted to accept by making my ministry among lepers a little fruitful, I find it after all very light and even pleasant for me, daring to say like Saint Paul -I am dead and my life is hidden with Christ in God-«.

At the end of his life he had the consolation of Father Wendelin and the Franciscan sisters who went to Molokai to take care of the infirmary. Among them Blessed Mother Marianna Cope who dedicated more than 30 years to the service of lepers.

In 1936, the body of Father Damien, who had always lived in the greatest poverty out of love for his neighbor, was transferred to the majestic cathedral of Antwerp, Belgium. The ship that brought him was received by the Cardinal Primate of Belgium, Van Roey, the bishops, the government headed by King Leopold III and a large crowd.

A bronze statue of Father Damien in the US Capitol represents the state of Hawaii. A replica is in the Hawaii State Legislature.