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,

In both ecumenical religious and non-sectarian communities, Damien is being adopted as the symbol of how

society should treat HIV/AIDS patients in defiance of the misconceptions of the disease, much like leprosy

treatment was an outgrowth of misconceptions. Several Damien Centers have been established

worldwide to serve people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

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