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STEWART, Richard. Leper Priest of Molokai: The Father Damien Story. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press (2840 Kolowalu Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822-1888), 2000. ix, 445 pp. ISBN 0-8248-2232-3 (hc) $49.00; ISBN 0-8248-2322-2 (pa) $24.95. Index. Bib. Illus (b&w). Acid-Free.
While virtually every long-time resident of Hawaii knows the story of Father Damien, there is a lot that will shock and inspire readers in Richard Stewart’s version of his biography. Leper Priest of Molokai is one of the most recent works on the Belgian missionary who served Hawaii’s exiled sufferers of Hansen’s Disease. Dr. Stewart learned of Father Damien through his interest in the effect of disease and medicine on people in the public eye. The author is a specialist of internal medicine and medical toxicology, and also holds a Ph.D. in English literature.
In the course of his 15-year investigation into the life and career of Father Damien De Veuster, Stewart was greatly aided by his wife’s former college professor, Sister Mary Hester Valentine. She helped him gain access to Father Damien’s letters and correspondence, and arranged for him to meet with historians from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in the Father’s native Belgium. As such, the strength of this work lies largely in what is revealed behind the scenes in the Order of the Sacred Hearts. Through a fine selection of excerpts taken from personal letters, Stewart is able to map the evolution of Father Damien’s relationship with his superiors and fellows. It was not a relationship without conflict, especially in the Father’s later years, and this is where the story is most intriguing.
Stewart’s book also does exceptionally well, I feel, in two other respects. First, it gives the reader a real sense of the industriousness of the Father—especially in the area of church building. I found this aspect of Father Damien’s mission work fascinating and deserving of the added attention. Second, as can be expected considering the author’s research interest, the account of how Father Damien gained international acclaim while working in the isolated colony of Kalawao is highly interesting. Take for instance, the role played by Walter Murray Gibson, the American entrepreneur excommunicated from the Mormon Church for misrepresenting himself as the head of the Church in Hawaii (he later officially became Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and President of the Board of Health of the Kingdom of Hawaii); or the involvement of Robert Louis Stevenson, who risked financial ruin by publishing a defense of Father Damien. Yet another compelling tidbit served up by Stewart was how the Prince of Wales recognized the U.K.’s debt to Father Damien for making them rethink their obligations to those suffering from leprosy in their Indian colonies (376).
With all this being said, one important area I feel this book is lacking in is its portrayal of native Hawaiians. The author starts out somewhat admirably, describing what Father Damien knew of Pele, the goddess of the volcano Kilauea, and the kahuna lapaau, native healers and physicians. However, on the whole, the Hawaiian presence is rarely felt, and when it is, it seems to come with an air of reproach. The portrayal of the residents of Kalawao, among whom Father Damien lived and worked with for 16 years, is typically flat and perfunctory. Very often, these people are reduced to the physical signs of their affliction and nothing more. The depiction of life in the colony, outside of Father Damien’s major undertakings, is also vague at best. At times the reader may find him or herself reading the same general statements about the colony over and over, in only slightly modified form. I would assume that additional sources could have been tapped, not only to bring to life the men, women, and children whom Father Damien served, but to illuminate the Father as well.
What stands out for me as the single most revealing and memorable depiction of Father Damien was actually taken from letter written by one of the Hawaiian residents of the colony. In a letter, Peter Kaeo describes how “the poor Man” (Father Damien), realizing that he had lost the food vouchers belonging to members of his church too ill to claim their food, was so confused that he was picking [up] strips of Paper that was scattered on the floor, asking the Natives whether they had seen any checks… and actually Crying [sic]. (123)
These are the stories from Kalawao that should have been in greater supply.In the final analysis, Stewart’s Leper Priest of Molokai is not, in my opinion, as even-handed as Gavan Daws’ premier biography Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai (1973), however it is still a book worth investing in, especially as a complement to earlier works. Being that it was published in 2000, Stewart’s book makes important reference to the 1995 beatification of Father Damien by Pope John Paul II and also explains how the Father’s candidature for sainthood was personally championed by none other than Mother Teresa.
The book may also be more readily pulled from the shelves than other versions, because of its attractive format. The cover image—a young Father Damien set against a background of orange and green—is much more striking than that of Daws’ Holy Man, which has a gray cover and a somber black and white image of the Father in his final days. To end with, those doing research on Father Damien will likely appreciate that Stewart took the time to distinguish those resources in the bibliography “of particular importance to this study” (433). The book also has a glossary for a few important Hawaiian terms, and appears to be well indexed (I used it a few times and without problems in writing this review).
While virtually every long-time resident of Hawaii knows the story of Father Damien, there is a lot that will shock and inspire readers in Richard Stewart’s version of his biography. Leper Priest of Molokai is one of the most recent works on the Belgian missionary who served Hawaii’s exiled sufferers of Hansen’s Disease. Dr. Stewart learned of Father Damien through his interest in the effect of disease and medicine on people in the public eye. The author is a specialist of internal medicine and medical toxicology, and also holds a Ph.D. in English literature.
In the course of his 15-year investigation into the life and career of Father Damien De Veuster, Stewart was greatly aided by his wife’s former college professor, Sister Mary Hester Valentine. She helped him gain access to Father Damien’s letters and correspondence, and arranged for him to meet with historians from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in the Father’s native Belgium. As such, the strength of this work lies largely in what is revealed behind the scenes in the Order of the Sacred Hearts. Through a fine selection of excerpts taken from personal letters, Stewart is able to map the evolution of Father Damien’s relationship with his superiors and fellows. It was not a relationship without conflict, especially in the Father’s later years, and this is where the story is most intriguing.
Stewart’s book also does exceptionally well, I feel, in two other respects. First, it gives the reader a real sense of the industriousness of the Father—especially in the area of church building. I found this aspect of Father Damien’s mission work fascinating and deserving of the added attention. Second, as can be expected considering the author’s research interest, the account of how Father Damien gained international acclaim while working in the isolated colony of Kalawao is highly interesting. Take for instance, the role played by Walter Murray Gibson, the American entrepreneur excommunicated from the Mormon Church for misrepresenting himself as the head of the Church in Hawaii (he later officially became Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and President of the Board of Health of the Kingdom of Hawaii); or the involvement of Robert Louis Stevenson, who risked financial ruin by publishing a defense of Father Damien. Yet another compelling tidbit served up by Stewart was how the Prince of Wales recognized the U.K.’s debt to Father Damien for making them rethink their obligations to those suffering from leprosy in their Indian colonies (376).
With all this being said, one important area I feel this book is lacking in is its portrayal of native Hawaiians. The author starts out somewhat admirably, describing what Father Damien knew of Pele, the goddess of the volcano Kilauea, and the kahuna lapaau, native healers and physicians. However, on the whole, the Hawaiian presence is rarely felt, and when it is, it seems to come with an air of reproach. The portrayal of the residents of Kalawao, among whom Father Damien lived and worked with for 16 years, is typically flat and perfunctory. Very often, these people are reduced to the physical signs of their affliction and nothing more. The depiction of life in the colony, outside of Father Damien’s major undertakings, is also vague at best. At times the reader may find him or herself reading the same general statements about the colony over and over, in only slightly modified form. I would assume that additional sources could have been tapped, not only to bring to life the men, women, and children whom Father Damien served, but to illuminate the Father as well.
What stands out for me as the single most revealing and memorable depiction of Father Damien was actually taken from letter written by one of the Hawaiian residents of the colony. In a letter, Peter Kaeo describes how “the poor Man” (Father Damien), realizing that he had lost the food vouchers belonging to members of his church too ill to claim their food, was so confused that he was picking [up] strips of Paper that was scattered on the floor, asking the Natives whether they had seen any checks… and actually Crying [sic]. (123)
These are the stories from Kalawao that should have been in greater supply.In the final analysis, Stewart’s Leper Priest of Molokai is not, in my opinion, as even-handed as Gavan Daws’ premier biography Holy Man: Father Damien of Molokai (1973), however it is still a book worth investing in, especially as a complement to earlier works. Being that it was published in 2000, Stewart’s book makes important reference to the 1995 beatification of Father Damien by Pope John Paul II and also explains how the Father’s candidature for sainthood was personally championed by none other than Mother Teresa.
The book may also be more readily pulled from the shelves than other versions, because of its attractive format. The cover image—a young Father Damien set against a background of orange and green—is much more striking than that of Daws’ Holy Man, which has a gray cover and a somber black and white image of the Father in his final days. To end with, those doing research on Father Damien will likely appreciate that Stewart took the time to distinguish those resources in the bibliography “of particular importance to this study” (433). The book also has a glossary for a few important Hawaiian terms, and appears to be well indexed (I used it a few times and without problems in writing this review).
Reviewed by Tina Arakawa, LIS Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa, May 2006.
