For Immediate Release:

Wayne Messmer to perform at St Benedict Catholic Church

as Father (Saint) Damien, November 7, 2026

A One-Man play by Aldyth Morris

For information contact:

Office@stbenspartish.org or 262-275-2480

Chicago actor Wayne Messmer assumes his critically acclaimed role of Father (Saint) Damien, “the Leper Priest of Molokai,” in the award-winning one-man play, Damien by Aldyth Morris at St Benedict Catholic Church, 137 Dewey Ace., Fontana, WI

Pope Benedict XVI canonized Saint Damien in a ceremony held at the Vatican on October 11, 2009.  The remarkable story of this courageous man of conviction will be told as Messmer once again brings the powerful message to life on stage.

Messmer, an accomplished actor has been seen as Damien many times since 2002, all to unanimous rave reviews. In addition, he has donned Father Damien’s cassock and collar to share his talents with the Archdiocese Festival of Faith at Navy Pier, at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral and throughout the Chicagoland community and he has brought the play to historic performances on two trips to Hawaii.

Long a devotee of Damien, Messmer has actively studied Damien’s fascinating and inspiring life. Wayne and his wife Kathleen visited the former “leper community” in Kalaupapa, the remote Island of Molokai Hawaii as a way of honing in on this remarkable hero’s spirit and persona. Messmer has a deep and abiding interest in sharing the passion of Damien, a Christian martyr, and hero of the world. Father Damien struggled in the late 1800’s to find a way to attend to the needs of thousands of tragically abandoned men, women and children with incurable and thought-to-be highly contagious leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) who had been banished and left to die in exile through no fault of their own. Damien was a source of infinite strength and divine hope for the thousands of individuals who were sent away to Molokai. News of his reputation for offering his humble and selfless caring and acts of love spread across the world like wild fire, and the admiration for this holy man continues today, more than a century after his death.

“Good Father Damien overcame the odds,” says Messmer. “He was very counter cultural for his time period, but it was his faith that carried him through to fight and serve others even to the point of being struck down with leprosy himself.”

Damien must have been forever exhausted but still found the strength to build homes, provide water and food and bury the dead so that wild animals would not carry about their corpses. Damien was a dearly beloved priest by the people for whom he cared, right until the very end. Damien quietly died of leprosy after 16 years at the Kalaupapa settlement where he relentlessly cared for the bodies and souls of his flock. Most of the time he was there, he was forced to fight the tough battles and in most cases ministered all alone. His life’s drama has been the subject of countless articles and books. Mother Teresa and Gandhi each proclaim the greatness of Father Damien as a selfless servant. Both of these revered figures have shown devotion for this humble, yet powerful man.

Messmer fought his own life’s battle back from despair when he was shot in the neck in a senseless and random act of violence in 1994, a tragedy that has had a profound affect on the deepening of his faith. “The Spirit of this man (Damien) inspires me to the core”, says Messmer. “I treasure every time I am given the privilege to share the heart and soul of this incredible and unique human being with the audience,” said Messmer.

You Tube-Wayne Messmer Story:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dATFUbrZw7Q