Damien, Joseph b. January 3, 1840 d. April 15, 1889 The man who gave his life for the lepers of Hawaii. Joseph de Veuster was born to a farm family in Tremeloo, Belgium. Opting to follow in his brother's and sister's footsteps into a religious vocation, he entered religious life as a lay brother assuming the name of Damien after a physician-saint from the fourth century. Volunteering to join his order at the Sacred Hearts Mission in Hawaii, he arrived and was ordained a Catholic priest in Honolulu with an assignment to the leper colony...[Read More] (Bio by: Donald Greyfield) Cause of death: Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Crypt of Father Damien, Leuven, Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant), Belgium
b. January 3, 1840 d. April 15, 1889