Summer Coronesi

Mrs. Terry

Hawaiaan History

January 21, 2021

A letter from Father Damien to his Brother

My dear Brother, It has been nine years since I arrived on the big Island, you would have

enjoyed your mission here but I am grateful that you allowed me to take your place on this

mission. I have spent much of my time here studying the Hawaiian Language in order to convert

the locals to Catholicism. Other missionaries and I have successfully built churches and baptized

many converts. Unfortunately Leprosy has become more common and they've begun hunting

down the Lepers and shipping them off to Molokai with no supervision, police, or priests. They

come into the towns and chase all the sick down with dogs, including the children. I am telling

you this because not long ago the church asked for volunteers to go to the Island of Molokai and

help these people, only four volunteered. I was assigned to take the first ship that would arrive in

Kalaupapa on May 10, 1873. The only instructions given to me by Bishop Maigret was to not

touch the patients as it is still unknown how the disease is transmitted. While some doctors

believe that it may be sexually transmitted, many kids have gotten sick, leading me to believe

there must be another explanation. As I left the harbor of Maui I stared at the families who stood

on the deck sobbing, holding their sick children unsure of the world that they were heading to. I

myself was feeling quite anxious of what I would find.

When I arrived on the island of Molokai, I was met by Rudolph Meye, who was in charge

of the rations and other provisions. I made quick notice of a large hill that lay nearby, Rudolph
must have noticed as he informed me that any Leper who attempted to cross that hill would be

shot. We walked together shortly as I observed the people around me: a man with what was left

of his hand in bandages, a woman with lumps surrounding her mouth and nose, and a child

walking by, covered in open sores. Rudolph scrunched his nose and informed me that smoking

tobacco makes the smell of the sores tolerable.

Later that day, I walked into this small building of wood littered with dust and broken

chairs, that was meant to be a chapel. I had begun to feel stressed, but as I looked around I

spotted a dusty Jesus Christ attached to the wall, a reminder of why I came here to help bring the

lord into the lives of the sick and heal their souls. The first patient I introduced myself to was an

old protestant; he laid by the shoreline in his little hut made of sticks and a thin white cloth flying

in the wind. I offered to bring him into the church and heal him, but he simply exclaimed that his

father would roll over in his grave. The following day as I was repairing the church, a little boy

walked in and asked if he could be my Alter boy. Of course I obliged but told him he must shake

my hand in agreement, he was the first of the sick that I touched. Contact with the sick was a

way for me to gain the trust of many, it was as if I was saying “I am one of you, and I will not

leave you like the others.”

There is much work that needs to be done, along with putting a stop to many of the

immoral activities that have been happening. The strong are stealing rations from the weak, and

some of the young women have been forced into prostitution. I have written to the Church,

demanding more clothes and food for the children, but have yet to receive a response. I’ve only

been asked to stay for three months, but I feel that my presence and love will be needed for much
longer. Brother, I hope that good fortune and health is finding you, and that God is kind. I wish to

hear from you soon.

- J. De Veuster.

Bibliography

Char, Sherie, et al. “Hawaii's Father Damien: From Priesthood to Sainthood.” Hawaii Magazine,

6 Jan. 2021, www.hawaiimagazine.com/hawaiis-father-damien-from-priesthood-to-sainthood/.

Cox, Paul, director. Molokai: the Story of Father Damien. RCV Film Distribution, 1999.