Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO)

Contact

General

Project Support

Alliances & Links

Resources & Training

A Patron Saint for Human Rights
CANONIZATION OF FATHER DAMIEN
The road to Canonization - Some Significant Moments from AIFO's Diaries

Events Programme

Fr Damien

Leprosy

Resolution Documents

General

Fr Damien died in the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement on Molokai island of Hawaii on 15 April 1889. He was 49 years old at that time and had been diagnosed as a leprosy patient since 1985. At that time, some people said that he had contracted the disease because of "immoral behaviour", however persons in the Kalaupapa settlement and all those who had known him continued to talk about his saintliness and his selfless service for the others. His fame in his native Belgium slowly spread, leading to the decision of exhuming his mortal remains from Molokai and bringing them to Lovain in Belgium in 1936.

In the Pontifical Commission, the process for examining the requests for Canonization of Fr Damien was started in those years. Persons affected with leprosy from Kalaupapa leprosy settlement deposed before the Vatican commission for his beatification in 1938.

During those years, the name of Fr Damien spread also among leprosy affected persons belonging to different religions, from different countries. In 1955, the cause for Beatification of Fr Damien was initiated in the Vatican.

During 1964, Raoul Follereau, who inspired by the life and message of Fr Damien, had dedicated his life to the cause of leprosy, had met Pope Paul VI to support the cause for Beatification of Fr Damien.

In 1966, Raoul Follereau, along with other persons, proposed to collect signatures of persons affected with leprosy, asking for canonization of Fr. Damien. A number of national and international organisations and congregations, that were working with leprosy affected persons, responded to this idea with enthusiasm.

Meeting with His Holiness, Pope Paul VI in April 1967: On 17 April 1967, around mid day, four persons representing different religious backgrounds came to Vatican to have an audience with Pope Paul VI. Among these four persons were Prof. T. N. Jagadisan from India representing the persons affected with leprosy. Mr. Raoul Follereau from France, also known as Vagabond of Charity, was there. The Anglican church was represented by Venerable D. J. N. Wanstall, from archdiocese of Malta and finally, there was Fr. Henry Systermans, Superior general of Fathers of Sacred Hearts, the congregation of Fr Damien.

They were carrying petitions signed by 32,864 persons affected with leprosy belonging to different religions from 52 countries, including 171 leprosy care centres, asking for canonization of Fr Damien. These included 9,229 signatures from 23 countries of Africa, 3,007 signatures from 11 countries of central and south America, 19,764 signatures from 7 countries of Asia, 560 signatures from 6 countries of Europe (including 65 signatures from Italy) and 348 signatures from 5 countries of Pacific (including 94 signatures from Kalaupapa leprosy settlement in Molokai, Hawaii).

Among the signatories, about one third or 11,700 persons were Christians (9,288 Catholics including 302 bishops, 2,184 Protestant & 348 Orthodox), another one third (11,092 persons) were Hindu and the remaining were from other religions including Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc. (Picture right: signatures from China asking for canonization of Fr Damien).

Many persons who had lost their fingers to the disease or who did not know how to write, had put their thumb impressions.

Raoul Follereau had written, "... and the island of Molokai echoed with cries of hate and desperation. Then arrived the charity. A man, a poor man, all alone, but of a heroic goodness that exalted the hearts, that shamed the self-centered and the cowards... What the world needs is a universal flood of charity and I wish the celebration of Fr Damien could one day illuminate the World Leprosy day in the Universal Church, so that it can teach human beings to love each other. The weapon for winning this fight against hunger, illness and ignorance, is that used by Fr. Damien - charity."

At that time in 1967, according to the World Health Organisation, there were "at least 10 million persons affected with leprosy in the world" and among them, only 2 million received the medicine (Dapsone) for curing the disease.

Prof. Jagadisan, himself a leprosy affected person, had been with Mahatma Gandhi, was a Hindu. At the time of the meeting he was secretary of the Indian Association for the fight against leprosy. During the meeting, Pope Paul VI held Prof. Jagadisan's hands with deformities due to leprosy, in his hand, giving a strong message of love and human dignity to the whole world that feared and refused persons affected with leprosy.

Prof. Jagadisan told Pope Paul VI during the meeting that they could have collected many more signatures. But, they wanted to collect only the signatures given freely, to ask the Church and the world to give more prominence to the figure of a person, who exemplifies the volunteer affected with leprosy, who carried the disease in his body and died from it." (Picture left: His Holiness Pope Paul VI holds hands of Prof. Jagadisan)

Pope Paul VI answered that he did not have doubts about the happy conclusion of the Beatification process and that he was sensitive to the homage of about 33,000 persons affected with leprosy, who had wanted to bring their personal testimonies to the charity of Fr Damien. His Holiness added that he felt moved by the thought that "two thirds of these testimonies come from hearts that are not united in our Catholic faith, but who belong to the larger fraternity of men of good will."

His Holiness Pope Paul VI asked the delegation to tell the persons affected with leprosy that he prayed and he will continue to pray for them and that he was sending them his hearty benediction.

On 7 July 1977, the Vatican officially recognised the heroic virtue of Fr Damien.

On 25 January 1984, on the occasion of the World Leprosy day, a delegation of Damien Foundation Belgium (DFB) and AIFO had an audience with His Holiness Pope John Paul II. In this audience, DFB was represented by its president, Dr. Moiersen and AIFO was represented by its president, Mr. Piergiorgio Trevisan. The purpose of this audience was to support the cause for the Beatification of Fr Damien de Veuster. Dr Moiersen and Mr. Trevisan submitted a memorandum to this effect to His Holiness, also signed by Dr. Enrico Pupulin, the president of ILEP (International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations).

His Holiness Pope John Paul II, accepting the memorandum for the cause of Fr Damien told the AIFO and DFB delegation that he knew very well the heroic life of Fr Damien, similar in certain aspects to a Jesuit father from Poland, Fr Jan Beyzym (1850-1912), who had died in the service of persons affected with leprosy at Fianarantsoa in Madagascar. (Picture right: His Holiness Pope John Paul II with AIFO's president Dr Enzo Venza in 1999)

Later in 1984, Pope John Paul II met in Vatican Mr. Antonio Magalhaes Filho, a persons affected with leprosy from Curupaiti leprosy settlement in Brazil.

On Sunday 21 September 1986, Pope John Paul II celebrated the Holy Mass for the 25 years of AIFO and 20 years of ILEP (International Association of Anti-Leprosy Associations). In his homily, the Holy Father said, "How can we not remember the figure of Francis of Assisi, who, when he met a leprosy affected person near his city, got down from his horse to help him and to kiss him, as in that miser figure he saw suffering of Christ, that he had been searching for; How can we not nominate, once again, Fr Damien de Veuster, who lived with persons affected with leprosy and died from the same disease; Fr. Jan Beyzym, who did so much for the leprosy affected persons in Madagascar; the beatific Pietro Donders, Dutch missionary who lived for 28 years in the leprosy settlement of Batavia? And in our times, allow me to make an example of men like Raoul Follereau and Marcello Candia, who worked so much for persons affected with leprosy."

On Sunday 5 June 1995, His Holiness Pope John Paul II beatified Fr. Damien de Veuster and celebrated the solemn Mass in Brussels (Belgium) for the Beatification of Fr Damien. Family members of Fr Damien, along with the King and the Queen of Belgium, missionaries, persons from Sacred Hearts Congregation and volunteers of our sister organisation Damien Foundation Belgium (DFB) participated in this Mass.

In his homily, Pope John Paul II said, "The Church thanks the Holy Spirit, as it was the Holy Spirit that had inspired Fr Damien to dedicate himself without any reservations to the care of persons affected with leprosy, in the Pacific island of Molokai. Today, through my words, the Church recognises and confirms the exemplary value of Fr Damien on the road towards sainthood, praising the Lord for having guided him till the end of his existence, in a journey that was often difficult."

On the coming 11 October 2009, the aspirations of thousands of persons affected with leprosy will finally receive an answer through the Canonization of Fr Damien de Veuster, who died in Molokai in 1989 in the service of his fellow persons affected with leprosy and as a leprosy affected person himself. It is a moment of great joy for AIFO along with our sister organisations in ILEP (International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations) and along with organisations of persons affected with leprosy such as IDEA.

Even today more than 250,000 new cases of leprosy are diagnosed every year and there are more than 14 million persons who have been cured of their infection with antibiotics. Yet, the inhuman discrimination and social stigma against the persons affected with leprosy continues even today, 120 years after the death of Fr Damien. (Mr. Augusto Crocco, AIFO coordinator for Compania region, with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI).

We hope that the message of Saintliness of Fr Damien as a person affected with leprosy, will be a strong message and it will continue to remind to all the humanity to finally eliminate all social stigma and discrimination.

Dr. Sunil Deepak
AIFO, Bologna, Italy
19 June 2009