Born Jozef De Veuster (1840-1889), Father Damien was canonized as Saint Damien of Molokai on 11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Effective treatment of leprosy would not be discovered and implemented until antibiotics came into widespread use in the 1940s.
Mandatory isolation for the residents of the leper colony on Molokai ended in 1969, but some residents remained, fearing their disfigurement from the disease would make it difficult for them to integrate into the wider society.