World Leprosy Day

For more than 50 years, on the last Sunday of January, thousands of people across the globe have stopped to remember those who suffer the horrendous effects of leprosy.

The Leprosy Mission encourages individuals, churches and community groups to observe World Leprosy Day through spoken word, story and video. Many Canadians think of leprosy as an ancient disease that was eradicated many years ago. But every year, hundreds of thousands of children, women and men discover they have leprosy. For many centuries, leprosy stigmatized those affected because there was no cure. Those who had the disease had to live with the disabilities that are so common in leprosy – they simply had no choice. All they could hope for is a kind and compassionate friend who would take pity on them.

One such individual was Father Damien, a priest who went to live in the leprosy colony of Molokai in Hawaii in 1873. He spent the rest of his life there, caring for those affected by leprosy. He contracted the disease during his time on Molokai and died in 1889. Raoul Follereau, the founder of World Leprosy Day, wrote, “What the world needs is a universal flood of charity and I wish the celebration of Father Damien could one day illuminate the World Leprosy Day in the Universal Church so that it can teach human beings to love each other.” To learn more about Father Damien, click here.

World Leprosy Day helps to focus on the need of the very poorest of all people – those affected by leprosy. It helps to tell the story to people who simply do not know that leprosy still exists and that it can be cured. It also helps raise funds in Canada so that those with leprosy can be cured and cared for. Just $396 provides the full treatment and after treatment care for one leprosy patient!

This is truly a miracle! Yet leprosy continues to grow in areas of desperate poverty where people have not yet heard that leprosy can be cured or they are too poor to seek medical help.

This is a good news story that we can’t help but share with people in Canada.

In 2014, World Leprosy Day will be taking place on Sunday, January 26th. To sign up your church to participate, please call our office at 1-888-537-7679 or email us at info@leprosy.ca.

Join in the celebration of World Leprosy Day. Together we are working towards a world without leprosy!

Many Canadian churches have agreed to partner with TLMC and be a part of World Leprosy Day year after year. Visit the Ongoing Supporters page to see a list of these churches.  

World Leprosy Day Materials

Here are PDFs of the promotional materials for World Leprosy Day 2013.

World Leprosy Day Welcome Letter
World Leprosy Day Bulletin Insert
World Leprosy Day Poster
World Leprosy Day Sermon Resources

You can view and download the PDF documents on this page for free using Acrobat Reader.