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May 10th 2003 - 130th Anniversary of Father Damien de Veuster's arrival at Kalawao on the Kalaupapa peninsula, Moloka'i.
Two stamps and a mini-sheet were issued on May 10th 2003 to celebrate the 130th Anniversary of the Arrival of Father Damien de Veuster at Kalawao on the Kalaupapa peninsula, Moloka'i.
Leprosy had spread rapidly in Hawai'i by 1865, and it was decided by the Board of Health to separate the lepers from the rest of society. In 1866 a leper colony was established at Kalawao (shown on the $8 stamp), on the Kalaupapa peninsula of the island of Moloka'i in Hawai'i. This remote outcrop of land is surrounded by rough seas on 3 sides and 2,000 feet high cliffs on the other side (see the map on the $5 stamp). At first, priests and officials only visited occasionally. Chaos ruled the leper colony as there was no strong leader and not much in the way of law and order. Drunkenness and debauchery were common.
On May 10th 1873, Father Damien (a Catholic priest, born Jozef de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium) stepped ashore for the first time at Kalawao. He volunteered for this duty for a short period of time, but stayed a lifetime. His arrival brought order and a new spiritual awakening for the lepers at the colony. When he first arrived, there was a small wooden church named Siloama Church (shown on the $5 stamp) which was Protestant and completed in 1871. Siloama means "healing spring" and comes from the book of St. John in the New Testament (9:1-11). St. Philomena, the Catholic Church was also made of wood, prefabricated and shipped in pieces from Honolulu to Kalawao in 1872. In 1888, a storm blew off the steeple. As luck would have it, one of Father Damien's patients was a stone mason who helped him rebuild St. Philomena Church into a more substantial and much larger structure (shown on the $8 minisheet). Both churches survive to this day.
Father Damien selflessly cared for the sick and dying, but eventually succumbed to leprosy himself and died of complications caused by bronchial pneumonia on April 15th 1889. In 1893, a monument was erected at the settlement in his memory with the inscription "Greater love hath no man than this. That a man lay down his life for his friends." Despite strenuous objections from the residents of the settlement and elsewhere in Hawai'i, his remains were exhumed in 1936 at the request of the Belgian Government and are now interred in the crypt of St. Anthony's Chapel in Louven (Louvain), Belgium.
Leprosy is currently called Hansen's disease and has been totally curable since the 1940's. Only a few souls who used to have Hansen's disease are left at Kalaupapa to-day and they are free to leave anytime, but many have chosen to stay. Because of his good works, the beatification process of Father Damien was started in 1938. He went through the stages of "Venerable" in 1977, then "Blessed" in 1995, and finally he was proclaimed a "Saint" on October 11 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.
To-day, you can visit Kalaupapa by taking a small plane which lands on a landing strip on the peninsula. Or you can ride a mule down the paths that cling to the steep cliffs (the traditional way to go). You cannot visit independently. You must either arrange a tour or get written permission to enter what is now called "The Kalapaupa National Historical Park" (established in 1980 by President Carter).
The $5 stamp (above left) pays the Overnight rate. It shows a portrait of a young Father Damien with a map of the Kalaupapa Peninsula and a small picture of the original church - Siloama at Kalawao.
The $8 stamp (above right) pays the Same Day rate. It shows a portrait of a young Father Damien with an aerial view of the Leper Settlement at Kalawao on the Kalaupapa Peninsula in the 1880's.
The $8 minisheet (above) pays the Same Day rate. It shows a portrait of an older Father Damien with one of his young patients outside St. Philomena Church (the Catholic church he rebuilt at Kalawao) on the Kalaupapa Peninsula. The scene was painted by local artist Wayne Takazono.
The special postmark for this issue shows the bronze statue of Father Damien by artist Marisol Escobar that stands in front of the State Capitol Building in downtown Honolulu.
WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS ON ALL ORDERS
Technical details of the stamps and mini-sheet:
Colors: $5, and $8 stamps and $8 mini-sheet - Multicolored
Size: 48mm x 32mm ($5 & $8 stamps), 84mm x 70mm (mini-sheet)
Stamps sheet size: $5 & $8 - 30 (5 across, 6 down).
Perforation: 12. Mini-sheet - imperforate.
Stamps & Mini-sheet design: Enelani.
Layout & Pre-press: Enelani.
Printer: Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Printing Method: 4-color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) printing process.
Sheet margin markings: HAWAI'I POST (top middle), "Traffic Light" showing 4 colors used in printing (lower left side), © 2003 Hawai'i Post (lower right side) & Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i. (bottom middle)
Paper: GPA coated white stock with water-activated gum on the back.
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