St. Damien of Molokai

“The Leper Priest”

In western culture few saints are so closely identified with a ministry to a particular group as St. Damien of Molokai.  When the plight of lepers in modern times is considered, his heroic efforts for the lepers in Hawaii immediately comes to mind.  Knowing that it would eventually cost him his own life Fr. Damien chose to live with, love, and serve this abandoned, suffering population at a time when there were no cures for leprosy and the victims were often erroneously blamed for contracting the disease.

The documentary film, An Uncommon Kindness: The Father Damien Story, does an excellent job of showing the tremendous suffering endured by lepers in the mid-1800s and the great challenges faced by Fr. Damien and the few other missionaries who tried to serve them.  The video is powerfully narrated by Robin Williams and includes a riveting mixture of photos, film clips, and quotations from original sources.  Some of the photos can be difficult to watch for modern viewers unaccustomed to seeing the ravages of leprosy.  But, the many interviews and original source documents show the undeniable humanity of these victims no matter what the disease had destroyed in their bodies.

When Fr. Damien, a missionary from Belgium, volunteered to be the permanent chaplain on Molokai in 1873, there were no known cures for Hansen’s Disease (commonly called leprosy).  His bishop, the lepers on the island, and his religious community knew that if he stayed on the island, it was only a matter of time before Fr. Damien would succumb to the disease himself.  The ship that brought him to the island also carried the bishop of the Catholic mission in Hawaii and fifty newly exiled sufferers of the disease.

As the vessel made its way to the shores of Molokai, Bishop Maigret and Father Damien gave comfort to the poor lepers, knowing, as all aboard did, that those afflicted with Hansen’s Disease would never leave the colony alive. Once they had reached the settlement, Bishop Maigret made a startling announcement to the lepers. While he might be only paying them a visit, he was bringing them a priest ‘‘who will be a father to you…he will become one with you and live and die with you.’’[1]

The first obstacle that Fr. Damien had to overcome was the moral and spiritual despair and degradation that many of the eight hundred inhabitants of Molokai had fallen into given the isolation and horrible conditions on the island.   “As he came ashore . . . some of the lepers boasted . . . ‘Here there is no law!’ Residents preyed on each other, many died alone and largely untreated, and others consumed home-made liquor to spend their days in drunken stupors. The dead were usually wrapped in rags and thrown into the ravine where wild boars ate the remains.”[2]  In response, Fr. Damien worked tirelessly among the lepers to restore their sense of dignity.  The priest was determined  to be “a true pastor to the settlement. He started by making wooden coffins for each corpse, fashioning  600 of them by his own hand. Damien dug the graves himself . . . He fought against those who brutalized the weak, halted the drunken orgies, and cared for the bitterest lepers even as they cursed God for their afflictions.”[3]

Over time, he also enlisted their help in building a chapel, a rudimentary hospice, and many other physical improvements in the settlement.  He tried to visit each patient once a week.  Although his efforts did much to give the people a sense of hope and an eternal perspective, the devastation caused by the disease was ever present.  In one long period, at least one person per day died in the small settlement.[4]

Fr. Damien’s work with the lepers brought him international recognition.  He never sought the personal acclaim, but recognized that the attention would bring desperately needed donations and pressure for better conditions for his isolated flock.  Luminaries throughout the world cited Fr. Damien as an example of heroic service and charity.  For example, Mahatma Gandhi’s praise is frequently quoted, “The world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Molokai.”[5] 

Unfortunately, all the attention created much jealousy and many critics for Fr. Damien during his life.  He was accused of exaggerating the plight of the lepers, trying to embarrass government officials in Hawaii, and even of contracting the disease through illicit sexual activity with the exiles on Molokai.  At one point his superiors even censured him, refused him treatment at the hospital in Honolulu.[6]   Fr. Damien never let these unjust accusations distract him from his ministry.  He endured all these detractions and hardships out of love for his people and simply focused on the needs of the lepers.  The cross that brought Fr. Damien the most pain was the loss of access to the Sacrament of Confession.  He had many long stretches in which he had no access to another priest because none was allowed to land on the island.  But, he never lost his faith in God’s providence or his commitment to his missionary calling.[7]

Fr. Damien died from leprosy in 1889 at the age of 49.  Shortly before his death, a small community of nuns was allowed to join him in Molokai.  So he returned to the Lord knowing that his beloved community would be well cared for.  His death was grieved all over the western world, especially in the United States and his home country of Belgium.  Conditions on Molokai gradually improved and in 1941 a cure for Hansen’s Disease was found and introduced to the remaining residents on the island in 1946.[8]

Overall, An Uncommon Kindness: The Father Damien Story is well worth watching.  The film reminds us of the tremendous suffering that has been endured by abandoned populations in our society, but also what one dedicated soul can accomplish when he follows God’s call and acts for the love of Christ.  It is available through the Amazon Marketplace in DVD format.

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[1] Bunson, Matthew E. “The Leper’s Priest.” The Priest. October, 2009. Accessed April 3, 2016, 21. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=984cfcfa-1834-4d81-a09c-17e98c4ce111%40sessionmgr4005&vid=8&hid=4202

[2] Ibid, 23.

[3] Ibid.

[4] An Uncommon Kindness: The Father Damien Story, Narrated by Robin Williams, Fries Home Video, 2003, DVD.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

Bibliography

An Uncommon Kindness: The Father Damien Story. Narrated by Robin Williams. Fries Home Video, 2003. DVD.

Bunson, Matthew E. “The Leper’s Priest.” The Priest. October, 2009. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=984cfcfa-1834-4d81-a09c-17e98c4ce111%40sessionmgr4005&vid=8&hid=4202