Voting Station

Father Damien

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (January 3, 1840-April 15, 1889)
    Born in Tremelo, Belgium
    Birth name was Jozef de Veuster
    Roman Catholic missionary to the Hawaiian leper colony on Molokai
    Beatified by Pope John Paul II (1995)
    Vatican announced he will be canonized on October 11, 2009
    Will be patron saint of Hawaii, outcasts, and people with leprosy and/or HIV

Why he might be annoying:

    He went to Hawaii as a replacement for his brother, who had become too sick to make the journey.
    Presbyterian minister C. M. Hyde denounced him as a charlatan, writing, ‘The simple truth is, he was a coarse, dirty man, headstrong and bigoted.’
    After his beatification, he was exhumed, and his hand was cut off his body and sent to Hawaii as a relic.
    Anyone else find it strange to have a saint sharing a name with the antichrist from the ‘Omen’ movies?

Why he might not be annoying:

    Novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, also a Presbyterian, wrote an open letter rebutting Rev. Hyde’s claims.
    He went to Molokai despite the risk of contracting leprosy himself.
    In addition to his religious duties, he bandaged sores, built houses and dug graves.
    After being diagnosed with leprosy, he continued working vigorously to ensure the programs he created would continue after his death.
    Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘The political world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Molokai. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 144 Votes: 46.53% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 27 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 100 Votes: 51.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 121 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 16 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 19 Votes: 47.37% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 28 Votes: 39.29% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 21.43% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 128 Votes: 45.31% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 122 Votes: 44.26% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 316 Votes: 36.08% Annoying