Library Honors Kalaupapa’s Religious Leaders

April’s E Ho‘omana‘o program at Molokai Library honored Saint Damien, Brother Dutton and Saint Marianne. Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

A few community members attended the E Ho‘omana‘o program at Molokai Public Library last week to celebrate, honor and learn more about three illustrious Kalaupapa residents who were pivotal in improving the lives of Hansen’s disease patients banned to the peninsula in the late 19th century.

“We are so fortunate to have people sharing with us about our ali‘i. Today we have some of our historical figures from Kalaupapa,” branch manager Mia Langer Ritte said during the opening of the program April 28.

April’s edition of E Ho‘omana‘o — the program is held every third Tuesday of the month — highlighted Saint Damien De Veuster, Brother Joseph Dutton and Saint Marianne Cope. All three had pivotal roles in caring for Hansen’s disease patients in Kalaupapa. 

The Catholic Church canonized Father Damien in 2009, and Mother Marianne in 2012. The church also opened a canonization cause for Brother Dutton in 2022.

“Our saint, Father Damien, was born in January, 1840, and he passed away in 1889,” Awaiulu head researcher Kalei Roberts said, adding Father Damien arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1864, a year after the beginning of King Kamehameha V’s rule. 

Roberts said there are reports from as early as 1840 of Hansen’s disease, or leprosy, arriving in Hawaiʻi. In the 1860s, Hawaiians started associating the disease with Chinese immigrants, calling it maʻi pākē, or the Chinese disease, she said. It was also called lepera.

Kamehameha V established Kalaupapa as a Hansen’s disease settlement in 1866. At that time, those suspected of having the disease were screened by the Board of Health, and then directed to different sites depending on the severity of their condition. 

“There are many sites that they designated for our sick, not just Kalaupapa,” Roberts said. 

The peninsula was the destination for “the more serious cases,” she said. Roberts added she wants to do further research to find out the location of the other sites, and what was the criteria for patients to be sent to each site.

Father Damien went to Kalaupapa in 1873 as a minister of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Initially, he was to stay for a few months but decided to stay permanently. He would eventually contract Hansen’s disease and succumb to it at 49 years old in 1889.

During his time in Kalaupapa, Father Damien was an outspoken advocate for the patients. His leadership dramatically improved the quality of life in the settlement. 

In 1881, King Kalākaua bestowed on Father Damien the honor of “Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalākaua.” Princess Lydia Liliʻuokalani — who would become queen in 1891 — visited the settlement to present the medal in person to Father Damien.

Mother Marianne arrived in Honolulu in 1883, after her congregation received a plea for help from King Kalākaua. She cared for patients on Oʻahu and Maui, and in 1885, Kalākaua awarded her with the Cross of a Companion of the Royal Order of Kapiolani. 

In 1888, Mother Marianne moved to Kalaupapa to the Charles R. Bishop Home for Unprotected Leper Girls and Women. At that time, Father Damien was already ill with the disease, and she helped to care for him. She died at 80 years old in Kalaupapa in 1918.

Brother Dutton, an American Civil War veteran, converted to Catholicism in 1883. Three years later, he went to Molokai to help Father Damien in the settlement. He died in Honolulu at 87 years old in 1931.

Last month, Gov. Josh Green signed Act Four into law, establishing April 27 as annual Brother Joseph Dutton Day.

“The measure honors and recognizes the extraordinary life and humanitarian contributions of Brother Joseph Dutton, whose decades of service at Kalaupapa left a lasting impact on Hawaiʻi’s history,” Molokai Library Branch Manager Mia Langer Ritte said while reading a statement from the state government. 

Langer Ritte also read a statement from state Sen. Lynn DeCoite, who represents Molokai in the Legislature.

“Brother Joseph Dutton stood alongside the people of Kalaupapa during one of the most difficult chapters in our history, bringing care, dignity and hope to those who needed it most. Establishing April 27 as Brother Joseph Dutton Day ensures that his legacy and the strength and resilience of Kalaupapa will continue to be honored for generations to come,” Langer Ritte read from DeCoite’s statement. 

The intimate gathering, which included Alu Like Kūpuna Program members, opened with a prayer and the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi mele sang by everyone. There were other mele during the program, and a closing pule. 

Awaiulu is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing resources to bridge Hawaiian knowledge from the past to the present and the future. 

Envisioned by Mercy Ritte, the E Hoʻomanaʻo program started in late 2023, highlighting a Hawaiʻi chief or a historical figure on the last Tuesday of every month. 

Sponsors and partners of E Hoʻomanaʻo include Awaiulu, Kaiāulu, Kaneokana, Molokai Middle School’s Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, ʻĀina Momona, Alu Like and Rooted. 

Visit https://www.librarieshawaii.org/branch/molokai-public-library/ to stay updated on the library’s events.