Missionary to the lepers of Molokai, Hawaii
St. Damien of Molokai was born in Belgium in 1840 to a poor farmer and his wife. At the age of 13, he quit school to help his parents on the farm; when he was nineteen, he entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Damien's older brother, Pamphile, was also a priest in this congregation, and had offered his service to the care of the lepers on the Island of Molokai. When he fell ill and couldn't go to the mission, Damien volunteered to take his place. The saint offered to stay in the leper colony permanently - he built schools, churches, hospitals and coffins. He was later joined in his work by the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by St. Marianne Cope. St. Damien contracted the disease himself, but continued to serve the mission until his death in 1889 .
(from the United States Conference of Catholic Biships web site: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/saints-for-the-year-of-faith.cfm)
For more information on St. Damien de Veuster follow this link: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/2009/ns_lit_doc_20091011_de-veuster_en.html
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