APOSTLE OF THE EXILED, ST. DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI by MARGARET BUNSON AND MATTHEW BUNSON

Description

Azure skies, lush vegetation, and sugar-white beaches: Hawaii brings such idyllic scenes to mind. But hell invaded paradise when the incurable disease leprosy was discovered there. An 1865 law segregated lepers by forcibly exiling individuals–even children– to the island of Molokai. It was onto these forlorn shores that Father Damien stepped in the spring of 1873. St. Damien became their caregiver, companion, and champion. Through his selfless ministry, he brought hope to the hopeless, ironically losing his own life to leprosy. The shining example of St. Damien shows the true power of one person and how, when anchored in God’s love, one person can impact individual lives–and indeed the world. Paper.