Leper Priest of Moloka'i : the Father Damien story

__Leper Priest of Moloka'i__ traces the life of Father Damien from his boyhood in rural Belgium to his death at the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement after sixteen years of remarkable accomplishments. Damien overcame major obstacles to become a Catholic priest and serve as a missionary in Hawai'i. To his spiritual ministry he added the practice of medicine and the skill of a master builder of chapels, churches, and houses, both professions that he taught himself. He decried human suffering, and in his medical practice he emulated the example of his patron saint, Saint Damien the physician, who led many to Christianity by the example of the Good Samaritan. This biography presents and analyzes much new information about Damien and his years in Hawai'i. The correspondence between Damien, his colleagues in the Catholic church, his Protestant supporters, and agents of the Hawaiian Board of Health gives a fuller understanding of the extent of Damien's work at the settlement and the tensions underlying his relations with Church bureaucrats, who were both impressed by his energy and zeal and irritated by his willfullness and independence. But even his detractors could not deny that he was almost singlehandedly responsible for tremendous improvements to Kalaupapa in the face of overwhelming odds. This is the story of one humble man with faith in God and in himself, who faced gargantuan challenges and triumphed. Contents Acknowledgments Author's Note Prologue 1 Exile: Day One 2 Birth, Childhood, and Beyond 3 The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary 4 The Quest Begins: Hawai'i 5 Puna: Father Damien's First Parish 6 Kohala-Hamakua: The Second Parish 7 The Calm before the Storm of Moloka'i 8 Exile: The First Weeks 9 A Prisoner Forever! 10 Free at Last! 11 Like the Christ: Priest, Physician, Carpenter 12 "We Lepers . . . " 13 Hutchison, the Survivor; Emerson, the Courageous Physician 14 His Finest Works 15 A Medal of Honor and a Crown of Thorns 16 The Year of the Nurses 17 Father Damien Denied 18 Damien, the Leper 19 Damien, the Martyr? 20 The Valley of the Shadow 21 "I Am Brother Joseph I Have Come to Help" 22 Death's Dark Shadow 23 Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me 24 Hawaiian Sunset 25 Requiem for a Priest 26 Accolades and a Preacher's Curse 27 Response to the Curse 28 A Second Saint Damien Epilogue Notes Glossary Bibliography Index About the Author The story of Father Damien De Veuster who arrived at Moloka'i's remote settlement in May of 1873 to become the first resident clergyman and part-time physician for the leper colony