(Artwork by Dietrich Varez)
Hawaii Catholic Herald
A special parish second collection planned for the weekend of April 27-28 aims to support the sainthood cause of Servant of God Joseph Dutton, layman, who spent more than 40 years serving the Hansen’s disease settlement in Kalaupapa.
Dutton, born on April 27, 1843, in Stowe, Vermont, was a Civil War veteran who struggled with alcoholism after his service. Upon realizing the direction his life was heading, he committed to sobriety and later experienced a spiritual transformation, resulting in his conversion to Catholicism on his 40th birthday.
Dutton learned of Father Damien de Veuster’s work in Kalaupapa and felt called to go to Molokai in 1886 to help
the priest in atonement for his previous life.
Dutton’s reputation never eclipsed that of his mentor but he still held a key role in the settlement, including managing the Baldwin Home for boys and men after Father Damien’s death.
Bishop Larry Silva opened a formal cause of canonization for Dutton in 2022, and earlier this year officially marked the conclusion of the evidence discovery process in the Diocese of Honolulu — approving thousands of pages sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican which is handling Dutton’s case.
Bishop Silva also approved the upcoming special collection for Dutton’s sainthood cause, which is being managed locally by the Joseph Dutton Guild. The collection is optional, but pastors are encouraged to support it.
