The Saint of the Day for April 15 is Blessed Joseph de Veuster.
Blessed Joseph de Veuster lived a humble life of service to the marginalized. He was the son of a small farmer in Belgium and joined the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1860. Still a seminarian in Paris, he took the name Damien and he volunteered for the missions. He was sent to Hawaii and ordained in Honolulu in 1864.
He served as the resident priest in the leper colony in Molokai. He worked alone mostly, providing the people both physical and spiritual care. His work turned this place for the unwanted into a real community with the best treatment of the day. His patients also lived strong spiritual lives.
Fr. Damien contracted leprosy in 1885 and, though severely crippled by the disease, he worked until the end. Pope John Paul II beatified him June 3, 1995.
1 comments:
He was canonized recently.
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