#Hansen’s disease

For the first time, Kalaupapa National Historical Park will offer public tours starting July 9, 2026. The tours will be provided twice a week, and reservations can be made beginning June 26.

Loved ones remember her “thousand-watt smile” and “spark plug” personality. Her death puts public access to Kalaupapa in question, as she owned and sponsored the only permitted tour to the area.

More than a century after her death, the story of a saint who served those with Hansen’s disease and died on Moloka’i is being told anew—through science. Chaminade University’s Forensic Sciences Unit is helping evaluate her remains, uniting Marianist mission and modern forensic expertise to bring history to life in service to the community.

Companion House and Senate bills make way for the eventual return of Kalaupapa Settlement on Molokaʻi with the rest of Maui County, but after a transparent and extensive public outreach process.

Kalaupapa resident, John Arruda celebrates 100 years of life today. In a statement, Arruda said, “The State of Hawai‘i has provided me with everything, and that’s why I have this beautiful Kalaupapa, which has kept me going all these years and where I call home.”

The Hawai‘i Department of Health is reporting the first positive case of COVID-19 in an adult resident of Kalaupapa Settlement in Kalawao County on the island of Moloka‘i.

The State of Hawai‘i, Department of Transportation, Airports Division has prepared a Final Environmental Assessment for improvements at Kalaupapa Airport.

A ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of when the first 12 people were sent to Kalaupapa in 1866 will be held at Hoaloha Park in front of the Hawaiian Canoe Club hale at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2015.

A portion of New York’s 33rd Street was co-named Father Damien Way today after the 19th-century Roman Catholic Priest from Belgium, who is recognized in Hawaiʻi for is work with Hansen’s disease patients in Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi.

A traveling exhibit featuring 100 photographs of the remote Kalaupapa region on Molokai opened recently. The exhibit honors ancestors of the region through the images of family members.

Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said that Hawaii is now “twice blessed” after the canonization of St. Damien, and now the canonization of Cope. Mother Marianne left a legacy of health care, education and spiritual nourishment in Kalaupapa on Molokai where she spent 30 years, serving Hansen’s disease patients.

Representative Mele Carroll of Maui introduced a Senate Bill aimed at transferring Kalawao County to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL).  Kalawao County, which encompasses the historic Kalaupapa settlement for Hansen’s Disease patients on Molokai, is currently under the ownership and management of the state department of Health and the Department of Land and Natural […]

A series of Kalaupapa family workshops begins this week to help people find information about ancestors that were forcibly relocated to the remote Molokai community.  There were an estimated 8,000 individuals who were sent to the Kalaupapa Peninsula between 1866 and 1969 because of government policies regarding Hansens disease. The meeting times are as follows: […]

A bill that would authorize a memorial for thousands of Hansen’s Disease Patients on the island of Molokai, has cleared a vote in the U.S. House and now awaits the president’s signature.The item is part of a larger Omnibus Public Land Management Act that was passed by the house in a 285 to 140 vote […]

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka today voted to support the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (S. 22), a bipartisan package of over 160 bills that includes legislation supporting the establishment of a memorial honoring Hansen’s disease patients of Kalaupapa.  The bill also supports funding in the amount of $5 million over 10 years […]