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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
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Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Father Damien | |
|---|---|
 The statue in front of the Hawaiʻi State Capitol | |
 | |
| Artist | Marisol Escobar |
| Subject | Father Damien |
The Father Damien Statue, also called the Saint Damien of Molokaʻi Statue, is the centerpiece of the entrance to the Hawaiʻi State Capitol and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. A second bronze cast is displayed in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol,[1] along with the Kamehameha Statue. The landmark memorializes the famous Hawaiʻi Catholic Church priest from Belgium who sacrificed his life for the lepers of the island of Molokaʻi. Father Damien is considered one of the preeminent heroes of Hawaiʻi, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Cast in bronze, the statue depicts Father Damien in his later years after being diagnosed with the disease of those he attended. Much attention was given to the recreation of the disfiguring scars on the priest's face and his arm hanging from a sling.
Sixty-six artists bid for the commissioned project. Only seven were selected to create models to be reviewed by the Hawaiʻi State Statuary Hall Commission.[2] Marisol Escobar, a New York City sculptor, won the bid. Commission members favored the contemporary feel and look of the Escobar design as opposed to the classical representations of Father Damien that others submitted. Her statue was based on a photo she saw of him near the end of his life, which is why he is wearing glasses and has his arm is in a sling.[3]
Taking into consideration of Father Damien's work as a carpenter, Escobar created her initial model in wood. She made another model in plaster from which the bronze cast would be created. Unfortunately, the plaster model was broken during shipping to the foundry in Viareggio, Italy. A second plaster model was lost during shipment.[4] Escobar finally sent a wax mold to the foundry. Coincidentally, the other most sacred of statues in Hawaiʻi, the Kamehameha Statue commissioned by King David Kalākaua, was also lost during travel (but later recovered).
The official unveiling of the Father Damien Statue took place in the United States Capitol Rotunda on Father Damien Day, April 15, 1969 alongside a reproduction of the Kamehameha Statue.[4] Hawaiʻi celebrates Father Damien Day annually, created by an act of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. On that day, the statue in Honolulu is ceremoniously draped in leis followed by solemn song and prayer. In Catholicism, Father Damien is the spiritual patron of the outcast and those afflicted with AIDS and HIV.[5]
Other statues of Father Damien are located in the United States Capitol as well as in Belgium, in the cities of Brussels, Leuven and Tremelo, his place of birth.
Media related to Father Damien by Marisol Escobar at Wikimedia CommonsSource: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Father Damien Statue, also called the Saint Damien of Molokaʻi Statue, is the centerpiece of the entrance to the Hawaiʻi State Capitol and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. A second bronze cast is displayed in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol, along with the Kamehameha Statue. The landmark memorializes the famous Hawaiʻi Catholic Church priest from Belgium who sacrificed his life for the lepers of the island of Molokaʻi. Father Damien is considered one of the preeminent heroes of Hawaiʻi, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Cast in bronze, the statue depicts Father Damien in his later years after being diagnosed with the disease of those he attended. Much attention was given to the recreation of the disfiguring scars on the priest's face and his arm hanging from a sling.
Dale Zarrella is a sculptor and painter living in Maui, Hawai'i. Born in Southington, Connecticut, he began sculpting at the age of nine and received his first commission, for a crucifix for St. Dominic Catholic Church, when he was 18. He relocated to Hawaii in 1985. He is best known for his statue of Saint Damien of Molokai, created for the Damien and Marianne of Moloka'i Heritage Center in Waikiki. A second copy of the statue was later presented to Pope Benedict XVI in commemoration of Father Damien's canonization. Zarrella also serves as a director of the World Turtle Trust, a Hawaiian nonprofit that works to protect the endangered green sea turtle. Examples of his work are on display at the King Kamehameha Golf Course Clubhouse, St. John's Seminary, the Grand Wailea Resort, and in the Vatican Museums, and have been collected by August Busch IV, Danny DeVito, Carl Weathers, and Fred L. Turner.
Damien De Veuster, popularly known as Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai (Dutch: Pater Damiaan or Heilige Damiaan van Molokai; born Jozef De Veuster; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Belgian Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He ministered to a leper colony in Molokaʻi, Kingdom of Hawaii, from 1873 until his death in 1889. Damien taught the Catholic faith to the people of Hawaii. He also cared for patients of leprosy (lepers) and established leaders within the community to build houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. He dressed residents' ulcers, built a reservoir, made coffins, dug graves, shared pipes, and ate poi with them, providing both medical and emotional support. After 11 years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, Damien contracted leprosy. He continued with his work until dying on 15 April 1889. He also had tuberculosis, which worsened his condition, but some believe the reason he volunteered in the first place was due to tuberculosis. Damien has been described as a "martyr of charity". He is considered the spiritual patron for people with leprosy and outcasts. Father Damien Day, which takes place on 15 April, is a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii. Damien is the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009. Libert H. Boeynaems, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, calls him "the Apostle of the Lepers." Damien's feast day is 10 May.
Father Ted is a sitcom produced by independent production company Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Its three series, comprising 25 episodes and a special, originally aired from 21 April 1995 to 1 May 1998. Its main characters, Father Ted Crilly (Dermot Morgan) and his fellow priests Father Dougal McGuire (Ardal O'Hanlon) and Father Jack Hackett (Frank Kelly), were exiled to Craggy Island, where they lived with the fourth main character, housekeeper Mrs Doyle (Pauline McLynn). All four actors appeared from the series' first episode, "Good Luck, Father Ted", to its last, "Going to America". Pauline McLynn also played a nun in the episode "Flight Into Terror", in which Mrs Doyle appears only briefly.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Joe Louis.
