The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-09
Bishop Ropert Brings Priests and
Brothers for Molo.
kai.
SAIL FOR HONOLULU TO-DAY.
Result of His Trip to Europe-A Sec.
ond Father Damien Among the
Missionaries.

Right Rev. Bishop Ropert of the Ha-
waiian Islands will sail for Honolulu this
morning on the Oceanic steamship Aus
tralia.
The Bishop has just returned from
Europe, where he went to secure recruits
for missionary work in the islands of the
South Pacific. He brought back with him
two priests, four brothers and four sisters, all
belonging to the order of the Sacred Heart,
the mother house of which is in Paris The
sisters go to the convent at Honolulu,
where they will be engaged as teachers,
and the reverend brothers will take up
their stations on the leper island of Molo-
kai. All will sail with the Bishop this
morning.
About one of the party much interest
centers. He is Father Pamphile Damien,
brother to Father Joseph Damien, who,
while laboring among the lepers at Molo-
kai six years ago, contracted the awful
disease and died. Now his brother goes
to take up his unfinished work. He VIII
be stationed at Kalawao, Molokai, where
his late brother lived and built a church.
Father Pamphile will be in charge of this
same church and administer to religious
wants and physical comforts of the suffer
him did. He will live there permanently
and, like his self-sacriticing brother, pos
sibly perish, too.
Bishop Ropert, who is staying with the
fathers of the French church on Bush
street, has been six months in Europe.
Among other places he visited Rome and
had an audience with Leo XIII, who in
CURED about affairs in the Hawaiian
Islands and was glad to know that peace
reigned there.
The Holy Father takes deep interest
in all the children of the world" said the
Bishop, land was pleased to learn that
everything was quiet in the islands. He
is wonderful man for his age and has
| remarkable memory. He showed himself
quite familiar with Hawaiian affairs. The
church experienced no injustice from the
change. OF governments in Hawaii. 1t
never interferes with political matters.
Its mission is for the spiritual elevation
OF mankind. We are well satisfied with
the new Governme and look forward to
| much prosperity under it's guidance.
There are about twenty-five priests IN
the diocese. They are scattered over the
different islands and are constantly at
worK for the spiritual good of the people,
At Honolulu our institutions are in a
| tiourishing condition. We have some five
hundred children attending the day
| school, which is conducted by the
Brothers of Mary from Dayton, Ohio.
The sisters who are in charge of the con-
vent belong to the Sacred Heart. Our
| schools are regarded as the best in Homo
| lulu.
THE Government provides for the
lepers at Molokai, setting off a portion of
the island for them. They receive their
food and clothing from the Government
| and are very well cared for. There is also
a physician on the island to attend to their
physical Ills. We have two missions
there-one at Kalawao and another at
Kalaupapa.
Father Damien founded the former
mission. He was sixteen years on the
island working for the lepers. He suffered
from the disease several years himself be-
fore he died. His brother, who accom-
panies me, is few years older than he.
He was educated at LouVaine and has
been teaching at different places in Europe,
where our order, the Sacred Heart, has es-
tablished colleges. The mission at Kalau-
papa is in charge of Father Vendelin
Muller, native of Germany. Father
Damien is from Belgium. There are also
seven sisters distributed among the
| leper missions. They are from Syracuse,
N. Y, and are touchinglv devoted to their
unfortunate wards. We should like to
have more priests, brothers and sisters to
assist in this work, put other countries
make demands upon the resources of the
church, and we must accept what we can
get"
Bishop Ropert first went to Hawaii in
| 1868, few years after the late Father
Damien. He has since been located there
permanently. Three years ago he was
| made Bishop of Honolulu, the consecrat-
ing services being performed in this City
| by Archbishop Riordan. He is French
| man by birth, slight in stature, retiring
and unostentatious IN manner.
| Father Damien is SO years of age. He
comes from an old Belgian family and is
man of profound scholarship. He has held
the chair of theology at the University of
Louvaine and like high places in other
great institutions of Europe. Now he
goes to console the lepers at Molokai.