Saint Damien of Molokai (Ess)

Joseph De Veuster was an ordinary boy growing up in Belgium, planning to take over the family farm–until he was called to priesthood. Joseph became Father Damien and was sent as a missionary to Hawaii. Arriving in Honolulu in March 1864, Damien found Hawaii in the midst of a public health crisis. When the government passed quarantine measures calling for the relocation of leprosy patients to the Island of Molokai, Damien volunteered to go there and minister to the sick.