Life and Legacy of Saint Damien

Life and Legacy of Saint Damien

Through the life and legacy of Saint Damien we model our lives. 

By: Sawyer Cilurso

Through the life of saints we are able to find examples of those few dedicated to the cause of supporting others as Jesus did. Saint Damien is one of countless saints that do just that, providing a shining beacon of hope to all those afflicted by leprosy in the Hawaiian islands. Even after his passing, Saint Damien’s life carries on to motivate and inspire future generations with his life story, an example of this is seen in Damien Memorial School. 

Ke Ali`i delved into the life of our school’s saint to uncover the history that influences the school today and also conducted an interview with Damien Memorial Theology teacher, Shane Chambers, for more information on the topic. Damien’s birth name is Joseph de Vuester he was born in Tremelo, Belgium on January 3, 1840 as the youngest child of seven children. During his time in Belgium he’d attend college at Braine-le-Comte University, however felt the calling to the religious brotherhood. One of his older brothers, Father Pamphile, was a brother in the Society of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; in following Pamphile's foot-steps, Joseph would also join. 

Father Pamphile was assigned to be a missionary within Honolulu in the Hawaiian Islands but fell ill. Joseph would go on to take his brother’s place despite not ever intending to leave Belgium. He’d make his way to the Hawaiian islands, landing in Honolulu Harbor in March of 1864 and in May of that same year, Joseph was ordained as a priest in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, this is when he took up the name: Damien. During the 19th century the plague of leprosy had been a widespread epidemic within the Hawaiian islands, the Hawaiian government took to exiling all those afflicted. The exile encampment was located at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. However, not much care was taken to make the settlement a comfortable environment. Upon hearing about the Kalaupapa settlement, Damien was moved to volunteer as a priest for the settlement. “Just volunteering alone saying 'I will go,' I feel that was a huge event because that was essentially the spark,” Mr. Chamber’s commented on the beginning of Damien’s work with the Kalaupapa settlement.  There would’ve been a rotation between four priests to serve the settlement, but Damien also volunteered to remain there on behalf of the other three.

During Damien’s stay in the Kalaupapa settlement, he took it upon himself to tend to the needs of the afflicted. Often this service wouldn’t just be religious but would require him to build shelters and secure supplies from Oahu to keep the settlement in a proper condition. Despite remaining well for the majority of his time on the settlement he’d eventually succumb to the disease. He would tend to start his homilies with the words; “My dear lepers.” However, after he contracted the disease his way of telling the lepers was by starting the homily with the words “My fellow lepers.” Though his body and strength began to deteriorate, he would still work hard to the very end to ensure that the lepers he cared for so fervently before were taken care of. “His greatest achievement is quite literally his entire life. Even when he contracted leprosy, even when he contracted the disease, he was still building, he was still working,” Mr. Chamber’s stated on the topic of Saint Damien’s greatest achievement.  Father Damien’s work on Molokai lasted 16 years until he died at the age of 49 on April 15, 1889. 

Damien would be canonized a saint on October 11, 2009, and the Church celebrates his feast day on May 10th. Saint Damien’s life has been an example of giving of oneself, wholly, to supporting others. Moved by the lepers of Molokai, he’d work to provide for them a life of dignity and hope in spite of their condition. Saint Damien’s legacy is still carried on today through various organizations and schools, one of them being Damien Memorial School. The school was founded in 1962, three years after the Hawaiian islands gained statehood. Upon the school’s opening the students were all male and to both be a strong role model for the young Christian men and to honor the priest’s service, the name Damien was chosen for the school. 

Saint Damien’s legacy is not just carried on by Damien Memorial just in name but also in the way the students embody Saint Damien’s values. Damien Memorial School instills the values of Saint Damien within the students and teachers and Saint Damien acts as a model to inspire and call people to action. Damien’s care for the lepers is not always attainable, it requires a lot from a person however because he does this while having no relation with them and rather acting out of compassion for those afflicted we too should be able to do at least something especially when being associated with his name. “Because he does this, anyone should be able to give of themselves and see Christ in others and be a Christ figure. When I think about Saint Damien, I try to imagine, "What more can I do?” The values that are constantly being embodied by all those affiliated with Damien Memorial School are that of “Respect, Responsibility, and Community Mindedness.” These same values are entirely applicable to the life that Saint Damien lived, especially that community mindedness. “Saint Damien himself, he saw those people on Kalaupapa as brothers and sisters,” Mr. Chambers remarked. The value of family is a central point of Damien’s legacy that’s carried on by Damien Memorial School and taught by the Theology teachers of the school to this day. As brothers and sisters of Christ we are called to treat everyone, not just within the school or who we deem close to us, with respect and dignity even those who are lowly, vulnerable, and forgotten; just as Saint Damien once did. “How we ought to be as a community, as a school, as a family; that we take upon the responsibility to help one another, not just in school but outside of school, our families, our communities, wherever we may go. Just like how he was called and went to Kalaupapa.” 

Just as Saint Damien’s life was to care and support those with leprosy and were outcast and stripped of their dignity we now stand as a group of people whose school’s namesake is this very saintly and virtuous man. As we go out into the world we should provide for those marginalized and care for the downtrodden and forgotten. With Damien as our example we act with the needs of others before our own.