Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/May 10 2007
Father Damien (January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889), born Joseph de Veuster and aka Blessed Damien of Molokai, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order.Damian is known for love and ministering to people with what was then widely known as leprosy, forced by government-sanctioned medical segregation, living on the island of Molokai in the Kingdom of Hawaii.In the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, as well as other denominations of Christianity, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for Hansen's Disease, HIV and AIDS patients as well as outcasts. As the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii, Father Damien Day is celebrated statewide on April 15. Upon his beatification towards canonization and sainthood by Pope John Paul II in 1995, Damien was given a memorial feast day, celebrated on May 10 on the church calendar and was conferred the official title of Blessed Damien of Molokai.Several memorials have been made to Damien worldwide. The Father Damien Statue honors the priest in bronze at the United States Capitol while a full size replica stands in front of the Hawaii State Capitol. In 2005, Damien was honored with the title of De Grootste Belg, chosen as The Greatest Belgian throughout Belgian history in polling conducted by the Flemish public broadcasting service, VRT.
Attributes:leprosy
Patronage:people with leprosy, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS, the State of Hawaii.
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