H. Res. 786 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

October 14, 2009. 

Whereas Father Damien de Veuster, SS.CC. was born Joseph 

de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840, 

and in 1859, at age 19, he entered the Congregation of 

the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Louvain and selected Damien as his religious name; 

Whereas in 1863, Father Damien received permission to replace his ill brother, and sailed to the Hawaiian Islands 

to perform missionary work; 

Whereas Father Damien arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on 

March 19, 1864, was ordained to the priesthood at the 

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on May 21, 1864, and 

began his pastoral ministry on the island of Hawaii; 

Whereas the Hawaiian Government deported individuals infected with leprosy, now also known as Hansen’s disease, 

to a peninsula on the island of Molokai, to prevent further spread of the disease, and Bishop Louis Maigret, 

SS.CC. sought the help of Father Damien and other 

priests to provide spiritual assistance for the sufferers of 

Hansen’s disease; 

Whereas several priests volunteered to work on Molokai for 

a few months, but Father Damien requested to remain 

permanently with the individuals suffering from Hansen’s 
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disease, and was among the first to leave for the island 

of Molokai on May 10, 1873; 

Whereas for 16 years, Father Damien served as a voice of 

hope and a source of consolation and encouragement for 

the individuals afflicted with Hansen’s disease; 

Whereas working together, Father Damien and the people 

isolated on the Kalaupapa peninsula accomplished remarkable achievements, including building houses and 

hospitals, taking care of the patients’ spiritual and physical needs, building 6 chapels, constructing a home for 

boys and a home for girls, and burying the hundreds who 

died during his years on the island of Molokai; 

Whereas Father Damien died on April 15, 1889, after contracting Hansen’s disease, and his remains were transferred to Belgium in 1936, where he was interred in the 

crypt of the church of the Congregation of the Sacred 

Hearts at Louvain; 

Whereas in 1938, the process for beatification for Father 

Damien was introduced at Malines, Belgium; 

Whereas in April 1965, the Legislature of the State of Hawaii selected Father Damien as the first of its two selections for the National Statuary Hall Collection in the 

U.S. Capitol; 

Whereas, on April 15, 1969, a statue of Father Damien and 

a statue of King Kamehameha I, gifts from the State of 

Hawaii, were unveiled at the Capitol Rotunda; 

Whereas, on July 7, 1977, Pope Paul VI declared Father 

Damien ‘‘venerable’’, the first of 3 steps that lead to 

sainthood; 

Whereas, on June 4, 1995, Pope John Paul II declared Father Damien ‘‘Blessed Damien’’, and his feast is on May 
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10, the day Father Damien first entered the island of 

Molokai; and 

Whereas Father Damien will be canonized a saint on October 

11, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors and 

praises Father Damien for his legacy, work, service, and his 

insistence on recognizing the human rights and dignity of 

every individual, particularly those who lived alongside him at 

the Hansen’s disease settlement on the island of Molokai. 

Attest: 

Clerk.