Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Holy Rover

Home
New Visions
The Greatest Belgian

The Greatest Belgian

Last updated on: December 8, 2013 at 3:21 am by Lori Erickson

The Greatest Belgian 2013-12-08T03:21:58-06:00 Lori Erickson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Father_Damien_in_1873

Father Damien became a Roman Catholic priest at the age of 24. (Wikimedia Commons image)

Before we leave Leuven, Belgium, there’s someone I want you to meet: Father Damien, who in 2005 was voted De Grootste Belg, the Greatest Belgian, in a poll conducted by the Flemish public broadcasting service.

Never heard of him? Neither had I, but after visiting his shrine I’m most grateful to have learned about his remarkable life.

Jozef De Veuster was born in 1840 in the Belgian village of Tremelo. As a young man he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Fathers, taking the name Father Damien and following in the footsteps of his older brother, Pamfiel. When Pamfiel caught typhus as he was preparing to become a missionary in Hawaii, Damien went in his place.

At first he was happy in his new home, but gradually he became restless, wondering if he was making a genuine difference in the lives of the islanders. When he learned that the Kalawao leper colony on Molokai Island was in need of a resident priest, he immediately volunteered.

Father Damien not only convinced his superiors that he should go to the colony: he told them that he wanted to stay there permanently. His reasoning was that if people knew that he was only temporary there, they wouldn’t fully trust him. Permission was granted, and Father Damien traveled to the leper colony.

The leper colony on Molokai Island (photo from Father Damien shrine)

Keep in mind that this was during an era when leprosy was an incurable and terribly disfiguring disease. The government of the islands quarantined lepers in remote colonies, in fact, because of the fear that the contagion would spread. The colony on Molokai was particularly isolated, located on a strip of land separated from the mainland by a steep mountain ridge.

When Father Damien arrived, conditions in the colony were wretched. Crime was rampant; misery ubiquitous. During his 16-year tenure there, he worked tirelessly to improve the lives of its more than 600 residents. Living among them, he bandaged wounds, dug graves, led services, organized schools and choirs, constructed a water system, founded two orphanages, and badgered the Hawaiian government for better housing and medical care for the colony.

Doctors now know that leprosy is actually not very contagious and only a small percentage of the population is susceptible to it. But Father Damien was one of the unlucky ones. In 1884, after 12 years living in the colony, he began to experience the tell-tale sign of numbness in his feet. Gradually he came to share in the disfigurements and disabilities of his parishioners, finally succumbing to the disease in 1889 at the age of 49. In 1936 his remains were transferred to Leuven, which is near the village of his birth.

Father Damien’s remains are housed in the crypt of Sint-Antoniuskerk in Leuven, Belgium (Bob Sessions photo)

But Father Damien’s influence didn’t end with his death, for stories of the “leper priest” spread around the world. Mahatma Gandhi was one of many who took inspiration from his life, saying that Father Damien had a great influence on his own work among the outcasts in India. Father Damien’s statue stands outside the Hawaii State Capitol Building, and Barack Obama, who spent part of his growing up years in Hawaii, has expressed his deep admiration for him. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien as a saint in a ceremony that was attended by native elders from the island of Molokai. He is popularly known as the patron of lepers and of all outcasts.

I visited Father Damien’s shrine in Leuven on a cold and rainy November day, in weather very different from that of his adopted homeland. Father Damien’s shrine is located in the lower level of Sint-Antoniuskerk, a modest brick church that also has displays about his life arrayed around the perimeter of its sanctuary.

Father Damien

Father Damien near the end of his life (image from Father Damien’s shrine)

As we entered the crypt area, I knew we were in a holy place. With its fresh flowers and lighted candles, it felt like a shrine that was cherished and cared for.

As I stood in front of the shrine, I was struck by the changes that had occurred in Father Damien’s face through the years. As you can see from the photo at the beginning of this post, as a young priest he was a handsome fellow, with finely etched features and a piercing gaze. Contrast that with the photo at the right, which shows him shortly before he died.

I think that as a person ages, one can often see their character and life experiences written on their faces. Worry and stress mark our visages, as does joy. In one sense Father Damien died a disfigured and ugly man, with a bandaged arm and gnarled hands. But there’s something about that image that captures one’s attention, isn’t there? His picture intrigues us, I think, because it provides visible evidence for his reckless giving away of himself to others, despite knowing what the ultimate cost might be.

Father Damien is indeed De Grootste Belg.

Father Damien amid the community at the Kalawao leper colony on Molokai Island (photo from Father Damien’s shrine)

Beginning with this post, I will occasionally post videos of the holy sites I visit. Here’s the first one:

Previous Post

December 1, 2013

With the Beguines in Belgium

Next Post

December 15, 2013 The Venice of the North

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aging & Spirituality Amish Anabaptists Animals Apocalypse Archeological sites Art and Spirituality Awards Belgian Holy Sites birds Blessings Books Buddhism Business & Spirituality Callings Cats Celtic Cemeteries Children Christianity church Colorado Creation Death Desert Spirituality Easter Economics Education & Spirituality Egypt Episcopal Church Faith Fear Films First Nations Food Forgiveness Germany God Good & Evil Good Friday Grace Gratitude Happiness Healing Hildegard of Bingen Hinduism History Holy Rover blog Holy Sites Holy Week Horses Iceland Illness Images of God Indigenous Spiritualilty Interfaith Interfaith Dialogue Iowa Islam Israel Japan Judaism LDS Church Lent Machu Picchu Martin Luther Media Meditation Monasteries Museums Music Music and Spirituality Musings Mysticism Native American Nature New Age New Zealand Norse History/Culture/Spirituality Orthodox Paradox Paranormal Peru Philosophy Pilgrimage Poetry Politics Pop Culture Pilgrimage Sites Prayers sermons Silence Social Media Spiritual writers Spirituality and Food Spirituality and Social Media Stone Circles Thomas Merton Turkey Uncategorized Unconventional Holy Sites Utopian communities Videos Virgin Mary Wicca Work World War I Writing Zen

Select a Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Salem" (as in Melchizedek, king of Salem) mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joy Peace Ark Light