Posted on January 4, 2022 in Announcements by The Grand Priory of America
January is Now Kalaupapa Month!
Governor David Ige, recognized January is a significant month for Kalaupapa. This Senate Bill is also in honor of the community and its contributions to Hawaii’s history.
- January 3, 1840: Saint Damien DeVeuster was born in Belgium and spent 16 years caring for
the people of Kalawao and Kalaupapa. - January 5, 1879: Ambrose Kanewalii Hutchison arrived in Kalaupapa and lived for the next
fifty-three years severing as resident superintendent for 10 of those years. - January 6, 1866: twelve patients with Hansen’s disease arrived in the community.
- January 23, 1838: Saint Marianne Cope was born in Germany, and served the people of Hawaii
for 35 years and 30 of those years were in Kalaupapa. - January 1895: The last of the original (pre-leprosy) inhabitants of Kalaupapa were evicted as
the settlement became overcrowded. They played a crucial role in caring for the settlement’s
first patients. - January 24, 1931: The wedding of Jack and Mary Sing, two important and much-loved leaders
of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Kalaupapa; in 1981: celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary. - January 26, 1978: Eight residents of Hale Mohalu in Pearl City (a second home for many
Kalaupapa patients) are relocated to Leahi Hospital against their wishes.
Fourth Sunday of January: Kalaupapa Sunday established in 2014 by the Hawaii Conference for the United Church of Christ to remember the people of Kalaupapa, particularly the 35 who founded Siloama Church.
Last Sunday of the month is World Leprosy Day as celebrated internationally by the World Health Organization and the Military and Hospitaller of the Order of St. Lazarus.
“In dedicating January of each year Kalaupapa Month, we hope to inspire the people of Hawaii to remember the estimated 8,000 patients who were sent to Kalaupapa, and despite the odds against them, came together to build a community of caring, respect and aloha for each other, and for the broader community,” Ige said. The law went into effect immediately following the signing. The pen that was used to sign SB 697 was given to the patient, John Arruda.
The month of January shall be known and designated as “Kalaupapa Month”, to serve as an annual reminder to people all over of the importance of Kalaupapa and the significant sacrifices and contributions made by its residents throughout the history of Hawaii.
The Military & Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem has also dedicated the last Sunday of the month in January as World Leprosy Day which has been commemorated every year since 1954 in over 140 countries in an effort to bring about an awareness of the disease and
its suffers.