Saint Damien, Martyr of Molokai Page 1

Saint Damien, Martyr of Molokai

During the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th, Molokai was infamous for what was then referred to as a leper colony. While it is not known when Hansen’s disease first came to Hawaii, in 1866 the Hawaiian monarchy began transporting those afflicted with it to Molokai’s isolated north coast peninsula, Makanalua (“The Given Grave”).

The isolated settlement there, called Kalaupapa, was made internationally famous by Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian priest who came to the settlement in 1873 to help those stricken by the disease. He ministered to these forgotten people until he, too, contracted the disease and died in 1889.
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