Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory

Chapter 15. “We Will Take Care of Him”: Father Damien Is Diagnosed with Leprosy

169 15 “WeWillTake Care of Him” Father Damien Is Diagnosed with Leprosy the trip to Lahaina to serve as a witness for the trial of Momona and Lohiau was Father Damien’s final unrestricted “visit to the outer world.”1 By this time, it was well known by many members of the Catholic Church, Drs. Mouritz, Arning, and others, that he had leprosy. Ambrose Hutchison recalled the day that Father Damien returned from a visit to Honolulu when he was at the wharf to supervise the unloading of supplies:­ In the first boat that came into the crevice of the rock was Father Damien who stepped ashore from the boat. He had his left foot bandaged. Mutual greeting passed between us. Naturally I asked the Father how he hurt his foot? And came the prompt answer, I did it with hot water. Hot water, said I, surprised. Yes, while at the Mission. I had taken a tub and poured some hot water in it to wash my feet. I put my foot into the water. I did not feel the heat and I did not know it was too hot. The result is as you see. I blistered­my foot and he added, calling me by name with a touch of irony, “I think I have the disease,” and limped away. . . . What the kind good hearted Father said, told a lot that sank deep into the heart, and really affected me. I felt sorry for the unfortunate Father, our devoted friend. I asked myself, is he to be a victim like us for his Charity?2 Father Damien, February 1889. Adapted from photo by H. T. Brigham, courtesy of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus), Rome. “WeWillTake Care of Him”    171 On his first visit to the settlement in March 1884, Dr. Arning confirmed Father­ Damien’s suspicions that he did indeed have leprosy, but he was not officially diagnosed until early 1885. And it took another year before Father Damien’s name was entered on March 30, 1886, as Number 2886 on the official register of those admitted to Kalaupapa.3 The official diagnosis of Father Damien’s leprosy in 1885 marked the beginning of what was probably the most difficult period in his life, but this was not due to the disease itself. Indeed, Father Damien seemed happy that the inevitable, as he felt it was, had finally happened and he accepted his fate calmly. He wrote to Bishop Koeckemann, “I cannot come to Honolulu for leprosy has attacked me. . . . As I have no doubt of the real character of the malady, I remain calm, resigned, and very happy in the midst of my people. The good God knows what is best for my sanctification , and I say daily, Fiat voluntas tua [Thy will be done], with a ready heart.”4 Dr. Mouritz observed that, while Father Damien refused to concern himself with thoughts about contracting the disease, he “was very careful about keeping other persons away from contagion.”5 Dr. Mouritz also commented on the circumstances that he felt resulted in Father Damien contracting the disease and, at the same time, provided strong testimony to counteract rumors by some that Father Damien’s leprosy was the result of immoral behavior: Father Damien was often sick through dysentery and diarrhea, yet struggled­on and wouldn’t give up. There was no one else to do the work— no nurses, no doctors. Without doubt this continuous exposure made him more susceptible to leprosy. Father Damien was obstinate and wouldn’t give up.6 Regardless of the danger of contagion, Father Damien lived and labored alongside a cemetery of a thousand bodies . . . with only a foot of earth to cover them. . . . He received visitors who took food from his table and smoked his pipe. . . . These apparent acts of imprudence on Father Damien’s part were because of his charity. . . . I used to warn him to be more careful. . . . He did not heed my warnings because he had his own ideas about the danger of contagion and his duties as a priest. . . . If Father Damien had escaped leprosy it would have been miraculous.7 172   chapter fifteen David Kamahana, who was sent to Kalaupapa in the last year of Father Damien’s life, recalled, “His charity towards people maybe made him imprudent regarding infection, but he couldn’t act in any other way if...