The ''Father Damien'' Statue, also called the ''Saint Damien of Moloka''i Statue, is the centerpiece of the entrance to the Hawaii State Capitol and the

Hawaii State Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Hawaii State House of Representatives, with 51 representatives, and an upper house, the ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. A second bronze cast is displayed in the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...

in the United States Capitol, along with the ''Kamehameha'' Statue. The landmark memorializes the famous Hawaii Catholic Church priest from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

who sacrificed his life for the lepers of the island of

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

. Father Damien is considered one of the preeminent heroes of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, and was canonized by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on October 11, 2009. Cast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

, 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.

Marisol Escobar

Sixty-six artists bid for the commissioned project. Only seven were selected to create models to be reviewed by the Hawaii State Statuary Hall Commission. Marisol Escobar, a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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. Taking into consideration of Father Damien's work as a carpenter, Escobar created her initial model in wood. She made another model in

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

from which the bronze cast would be created. Unfortunately, the plaster model was broken during shipping to the foundry in

Viareggio, Italy Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as ...

. A second plaster model was lost during shipment. Escobar finally sent a wax mold to the foundry. Coincidentally, the other most sacred of statues in Hawaii, the ''Kamehameha'' Statue commissioned by King David Kalākaua, was also lost during travel (but later recovered).

Father Damien Day

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. Hawaii celebrates Father Damien Day annually, created by an act of the Hawaii State Legislature. On that day, the statue in Honolulu is ceremoniously draped in leis followed by solemn song and prayer. In

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Father Damien is the spiritual patron of the outcast and those afflicted with

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

Other statues

Other statues of Father Damien are located in the United States Capitol as well as in

, in the cities of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

and

Tremelo Tremelo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Baal and Tremelo proper. On January 1, 2006, Tremelo had a total population of 13,725. The total area is 21.57& ...

, his place of birth.

References

External links

* {{coord, 21, 18, 27.72, N, 157, 51, 24.99, W, type:landmark_region:US, display=title 1969 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Hawaii Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C. Buildings and structures in Honolulu Monuments and memorials in Hawaii Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. National Statuary Hall Collection Outdoor sculptures in Hawaii Sculptures of men in Hawaii Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C. Statues in Hawaii Symbols of Hawaii Cultural depictions of Father Damien Statues of activists Statues of religious leaders