In 1863  Damien de Veuster was sent to Hawaii missions from Belgium.  He was ordained in 1864 in Hawaii and given charge of various districts on the island.  He constructed several chapels with his own hands. While in Molokai, Fr. Damien developed a great zeal to aid those who were forced to colonize there by the government because they suffered from Hansen’s Disease (leprosy).  At Fr. Damien’s own request in 1873, when he was 33 years old,  he became the colony’s priest.  After some years of heroic service he discovered that he had this loathsome disease himself and died in 1889.    In 1995 Pope John Paul II declared Damien blessed, the second step to canonization as a saint.
    I was so impressed with his life story that I visited Molokai eight times in the past eight years. I prepared a slide show about Fr. Damien and the history of leprosy in Hawaii.  I’ve given over one hundred presentations of this slide show to date throughout middle Europe: in Austria, Germany, and the Slovak and Czech Republic and am currently finishing a book about the lives of those who have lived, and those who are still living, in Molokai.  My book will be published in the Slovak language in Bratislava, Slovakia, with the title Hemolele ka’ania - svätá zem (Holy Land) - Molokai.

01. The peninsula of the leper colony after the rain.
02. A tree "hugging" the grave of a "…".
03. Kuulei Bell - a resident of the leper colony.
04. The St. Philomena church.
05. Reminiscences of the old day..(an old car).
06. An abandoned house belonging to an deceased leper.
07. Inside of the house of a deceased leper.
08. The sky and the earth kiss each other.
09. High waves at Kalaupapa.
10. Centuries old tree in the vicinity of Kalaupapa.
11. Old Visitors’ House.
12. Kalaupapa store - the only store in the village.
13. The St. Philomena church.
14. A grave of a colony resident who died a long time ago.
15. Grave on the shore.
16. Father Damian short time prior to his death.
17. Toyo Kishimoto - one of the most well known residents of the colony. (Deceased).
18. Richard Marks - organizer of official guided tours of the colony, and caretaker of an plane that was used by Fr. Damien.
19. Church of the St. Francis at Kalaupapa.
20. Countryside along the shoreline of Kalaupapa.
21. Jesus Christ's statue.
22. Father Damian's statue in Paia on the island of Maui.
23. Graves pre-dating the colony.
24. A jewel of the Hawaiian nature.
25. Rocks at Kalawao.
26. The protestant church Siloama at Kalawao.
27. Northern shores of the peninsula.
28. Kalaupapa beach.
29. The path to the colony.
30. Father Damian's grave.
31. Thousands of graves in the vicinity of Kalaupapa.
32. Father Damian on his deathbed.
33. "Smile it not broke your face.." the optimistic signs of Kalaupapa.
34. A view of the free, far away world…
35. A house in Kalaupapa.
36. Colonists' items of daily use.
37. The grave of Toyo  Kishimoto
38. Father Damian's grave.
39. Father Damian short time after his death.
40. Brother Joseph Dutton, an energetic missionary priest, who arrived to assist Fr. Damien when he was too ill to perform his duties as his leprosy progressed. 
41. The settlement's remains - from the time of Father Damian.
42. Father Damian one year prior to his death. Picture by the English artist Clifford.
43. NorbertPalea - a resident of the colony.
44. An old public toilette.
45. Entrance into the colony.
46. The Molokai peninsula.