St. Damien of Molokai, Model of Charity
May 10 is the feast day of St. Damien de Veuster, better known as St. Damien of Molokai, a Belgian priest of the the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who ministered to lepers on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i in 1873. He worked tirelessly for fifteen years to improve living conditions for victims of leprosy (Hansen's disease), who were ordered to live under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine on the island of Moloka'i. Jozef Damien De Veuster, was born at Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3,1840. Jozef began his novitiate with the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary at the beginning of 1859 and took the name Damien. He would pray every day before a picture of St Francis Xavier, patron of missionaries, to be sent on a mission. In 1863 his brother, who was to leave for a mission in the Hawaiian Islands, fell ill. Since preparations for the voyage had already been made, Damien obtained permission from the Superior General to take his b...