Joseph Dutton, a sainthood candidate with the title of “Servant of God,” is seen in this undated photo. He was a Civil War veteran who served in the leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa, Hawaii, 1886 to 1931, in atonement, he said, for his turbulent post-war years. He assisted St. Damien de Veuster and St. Marianne Cope primarily as “dresser of sores.” (Hawaii Catholic Herald file photo)
By Msgr. Robert J. Sarno
Special to the Herald
Many years ago, on these islands of Hawaii, three people dedicated their lives to the service of their brothers and sisters afflicted with the disease of leprosy. St. Damien de Veuster was a priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and St. Marianne Cope was a professed religious of the Sisters of St. Francis. Recognized for their heroic sacrifice, the church declared them to be among the saints in heaven, thus presenting them to the faithful for their imitation and intercession in the Communion of the Saints.
Few know about a man of the world, Joseph Dutton, who served in the Civil War and suffered from what today we call PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. Reeling from a broken marriage, Dutton led a reprobate life and became an alcoholic. After a religious experience and his conversion to Catholicism, he searched for a way to do penance for his past life. He stumbled upon Father Damien and the residents at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. It was there that he served for some 44 years until his death on March 26, 1931. Dutton and Damien grew so close that the priest called him “Brother Joseph,” sometimes creating the mistaken impression that the layman had joined a religious order. But it was simply a sign of love and affection, a deep friendship between the two island-warriors that would last until Father Damien’s death and beyond.
Reputation for holiness
Joseph Dutton didn’t gain the fame of his mentor, and even had not a few run-ins with Mother Marianne and her group of sisters. But together, the three of them built up the family of residents on Molokai and gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. On a 1911 petition for his government pension as a result of the Civil War, he himself defined his profession as a “servant of the lepers of Molokai.” His reputation of holiness has grown slowly but surely, so much so that Bishop Larry Silva thought to begin a cause that might one day lead to Joseph Dutton’s beatification and canonization.
On May 10, 2022, at a celebration of the Eucharist in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, a formal “cause of canonization” was opened in the Diocese of Honolulu, where Dutton died. From that moment, the church granted him the title “Servant of God.” A tribunal of diocesan officials appointed by the bishop began to gather all the eyewitness and documentary evidence about his life, his heroic exercise of all the Christian virtues, as well as his reputation of holiness and of intercessory power.
They began their task in Honolulu, but the search for the whole truth took them to Molokai where it all began, and back to Stowe, Vermont, where Dutton was born on April 27, 1843. In a cause such as his where there are no longer any living eyewitnesses to his life and activity, the majority of the evidence was based on documentary findings. Thus, a commission of three experts in historical and archival research were appointed to gather any and all writings and documents that could serve as proof of the holiness of the Servant of God.
2000 pages of evidence
On Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at noon in the cathedral basilica, Bishop Silva will preside at a celebration of the Eucharist during which he and the diocesan officials who conducted the inquiry will swear an oath that they fulfilled their task faithfully and seriously. Then, all the evidence gathered – 2,000 pages worth – will be packed up and sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints in Rome.
There, the evidence will be studied by the men and women who work at the Dicastery. Their responsibility will be to certify whether the Servant of God Joseph Dutton lived a life of truly heroic virtues and, therefore, is worthy of imitation on the part of the faithful. The “Position on the Heroic Virtues” of the Servant of God will be judged by the dicastery’s historical and theological consultors, and then by the cardinals and bishops who are the members of the dicastery. Finally, their opinions will be presented for the final and definitive judgment of the pope. If approved, Joseph Dutton will be given the title “Venerable Servant of God.”
For Dutton to be declared “Blessed” in a ceremony called beatification, one miracle, granted by God through Joseph Dutton’s intercession, that has taken place after his death, is required. The alleged miracle must go more or less through the same examination and study process outlined above. For his canonization, a second miracle that has happened after his beatification will be necessary. It too will be examined in the same way as the miracle required for beatification.
Bishop Silva wishes to take this opportunity to invite one and all, Catholic and not, to celebrate with us this milestone in the cause of canonization of the Servant of God Joseph Dutton.
Msgr. Robert J. Sarno is the episcopal delegate for the Cause of Canonization of the Servant of God Joseph Dutton, Layman. He is also a former official of the congregation, now called dicastery, for the Causes of the Saints in Rome.
