The
Church is named in honor of Father Damien (Joseph De Veuster), Missionary to the Hawaiian leper colony on Moloka`i, Hawai`i.
Born
in Tremelo, Belgium,
3 January 1840, he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (“Picpus Fathers”) in 1859 taking
the name of Damien. He
arrivied in Honolulu in March 1864 and was ordained a priest
on 21 May that same year.
In
1873, he volunteered to serve the asylum on the island of Moloka`i. Out of a chaos and neglect, he brought order, hope and
support for the community, and built houses, churches, an orphanage and a hospital.