AMONGST THE LEPERS.
-MFather A. Bouillon contributes *° ' Missions Catholiques ' the following account of a visit ne p a id to the Lazar house of Molokai, Sandwich Islands. We translate it fc> r the benefit of the readers of the ' Catholic Review . ** On June 8, Monsignor, tke vicar apostolic and myself left Father Andrew Bugarm ann and set out together for the Lazar house. "We arrived at Molokai in the afternoon, and there found a-waitingseveral horses sent out by Father Damien Devenster, and tho government agent who directs the establishment, to conduct us to it- This 'man a leper, and was formerly a journalist. He is at present a Catholic. In the evening of the day of our arrival, the Christian sufferers u "tissemblod in the chapel of St. Philomena to hear me preach. It was terrible to go over this horrible prison made by nature and inhabited by eight hundred prisoners, all of them hopeless of ever "being cured, and mostly terribiy mutilated by tho scourge from which they are doomed to suffer. Many of them have their faces awfully disfigured, some have lost their ears, their noses, their feet, and their hands. A great number cannot go to church but remain in the hospital where Father Devenster instructs them. By taking great care of themselves and avoiding colds, the lepers can live for nearly twenty years. The average number of deaths is one a day. On "Wednesday, June 9, high mass was said, during which the lepers executed some music by Mozart, and very well did they render it. In the afternoon Mgr. Margaret confirmed many of them, about 135, but sometimes he had difficulty in finding a clean spot on their faces to place the holy oils. One moonlight night they gave us a serenade. Lhe majority of the musicians had no fingers, but still they performed very well. I asked some if they regretted their "birth places. Lhey said no ; ' ' that the government took great care of them, far batter care indeed titan did their own parents. Lhey were very fond of their pastor who was exceedingly kind to thorn, and, when they were ill, nursed them and gave them tea, sugar and biscuits, and to the poorest, clothes. He treated poor and irch alike. He built their houses and was equally kind, to Protestants and Catholics. What a difference there was between him and the Protestant missionaries. Once one of these came to wee the the lepers out of curiosity, but he did not venture to go near them. Ah ! there is a wide difference between the true disciple of Christ and the mercenary who only works for money and fame." The next day wo left Molokai. I shall never forgot the awful procession of two hundred lepers which accompanied us, with drum and fife at its head, for over one mile beyond the village. Nor shall I ever forget the vicar apostolic' s farewell words and benediction. Tears streamed from our eyes, for we were sincerely touched at the sight of these poor wretches rendered happy in their way by the tender mercy of God, and by Christian charity."
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 136, 10 December 1875, Page 8
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524AMONGST THE LEPERS. New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 136, 10 December 1875, Page 8
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