Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium, is regarded as a hero in Hawaii because of the work he did on the former leper colony on Molokai. Damien greatly improved the living conditions for the lepers there and eventually died of leprosy himself on April 15, 1889. Every state in the U.S. has been allowed to send two statutes of important figures from their state to be displayed in Statutory Hall inside the U.S. Capitol building. Father Damien has a statute that resides there, and it is one of the most markedly unique.
