Father Damien was known as The Apostle
of the Lepers. In 1873, he administered to those who had succumbed to the
dreadful disease of leprosy on the island of Molokai, a government-sanctioned medical facility
off the coast of Maui. While serving the needy, he too contracted the disease
and died at 49 years. He was dearly loved by his people and later
canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Some descendants of those families still
live on the island of Molokai to this day.
