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 se-
lected Damien as his religious name; 
Whereas in 1863, Father Damien received permission to re-
place 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 in-
fected with leprosy, now also known as Hansen’s disease, 
to a peninsula on the island of Molokai, to prevent fur-
ther 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
•HRES 786 EH 
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 re-
markable achievements, including building houses and 
hospitals, taking care of the patients’ spiritual and phys-
ical 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 con-
tracting Hansen’s disease, and his remains were trans-
ferred 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 Ha-
waii selected Father Damien as the first of its two selec-
tions 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 Fa-
ther Damien ‘‘Blessed Damien’’, and his feast is on May
•HRES 786 EH 
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.