Father Damien - Legacy

Legacy

In 2005, Damien was honored with the title of De Grootste Belg, chosen as "The Greatest Belgian" throughout that country's history in polling conducted by the Flemish public broadcasting service, VRT. At the same time he was placed third on Le plus grand Belge ("The Greatest Belgian") by the French-speaking public channel RTBF.

In both ecumenical religious and nonsectarian communities, Damien's ministry to lepers is being cited as an example of how society should minister to HIV/AIDS patients. On the occasion of Damien's canonization, President Barack Obama stated, "In our own time, as millions around the world suffer from disease, especially the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, we should draw on the example of Father Damien’s resolve in answering the urgent call to heal and care for the sick." Several clinics and centers nationwide catering to HIV/AIDS patients bear his name. There is a chapel named after him, and dedicated to people with HIV/AIDS, in St. Thomas the Apostle Hollywood, an Episcopal parish.

The Blessed Damien Society, and other charities fighting leprosy, have been set up in his name. A centre for "peace for families and individuals affected by bereavement, stress, violence, and other difficulties with particular attention to Northern Ireland".

Damien is considered an important person in the history of Hawaiʻi. The Father Damien Statue on the steps of the Hawaiʻi State Capitol Building honors him, and a replica is displayed in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol.

Schools are named after him, including Damien High School in Southern California, and Damien Memorial School in Hawaiʻi. The village of Saint-Damien, Quebec is also named after him. Churches worldwide are also named after him.

St. Damien of Molokaʻi Catholic Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, is believed to have been the first Roman Catholic church in the continental United States to be named for Saint Damien when it was dedicated in 2010. A Traditional Latin Mass church, it is operated by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), and was authorized by Eusebius J. Beltran, Archbishop of Oklahoma City, in 2010.