April 15!  What do we think of when we hear this date?  Especially right now we may think of our taxes here in the United States.  In Hawaii, however, even though it is “Tax Day,” it is also the Feast Day of Fr. Damien DeVeuster, Hawaii’s Patron Saint.  Also called Damien the Leper or Damien of Molokai, he is most simply considered Father Damien.
 
Traveling from Belgium to Hawaii (then called the Sandwich Islands), Damien was a religious brother simply hoping to serve in the missions.  But the bishop there needed priests and Father Damien soon found himself serving the people in far flung Hawaii.  He could not have imagined upon his arrival in 1864, how his life would be changed when he came face to face with the scourge of leprosy.  He volunteered to serve the leper colony on the island of Molokai and eventually became a leper himself, dying on Monday of Holy Week, 1889—April 15!
           
Through his efforts, the plight and terrible treatment of lepers was brought to light and the attitudes of society were transformed.  On October 11, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI added Fr. Damien to the Church’s list of Saints (he was canonized!).  The Universal Church celebrates his feast day on May 10 (to avoid being in Holy Week or Easter Week), but in Hawaii it is April 15.
           
About five years ago I performed the one-man play Damien, written by Aldyth Morris.  I wanted to do it again during our 25th anniversary year, but we could not get it organized at the time.  Thursday and Friday, April 26 and 27, we will offer the play once more.  It is a beautiful story, and a beautifully written play.  I hope you can attend.  It is a powerful experience that may not be appropriate for children.  It is being offered free of charge.  There will be baskets for free-will offerings (?? $5 per person ??) to help defray the costs of doing it.  If there is any excess collected, it will go toward outreach.