We might think of leprosy as a disease of ancient times, feared by all and destroyed many lives.
Leprosy is mentioned many times in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testament. It is described as a scourge, a curse and a terrible affliction requiring cleansing. In Matthew 8:1, Mark 1:40 and Luke 5:12 we read how Jesus cured a man with leprosy. In all three Gospels, the man begged Jesus to cure him and Jesus, filled with compassion for the man’s plight, cured him.
In the Middle Ages, St Francis of Assisi followed in the footsteps of Jesus. As a young man, a chance encounter with a man with leprosy transformed his life forever. He left his wealthy family and comfortable lifestyle and began a new life of poverty. Francis followed what he felt was God’s calling. He rejected money and wealth and preached about returning to God and obedience to the church.
In more recent times, the Roman Catholic priest, Father Damien (1840 – 1889) now known as St Damien of Molokai, cared for leprosy outcasts on the island of Molokai. He arrived at the settlement on 10 May 1873, to find six hundred people with leprosy living in impoverished conditions. During his ministry, he shared his life with the community providing both medical and emotional support. He also built houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. This incredible calling transformed the lives of those living in the community.
Many other notable individuals have dedicated their lives to caring for people with leprosy, including the nurse Kate Marsden (1859 – 1931) who founded St Francis Leprosy Guild, the philanthropist Raoul Follereau (1903 – 1997), who founded the leprosy charity Fondation Raoul Follereau and Mother Teresa of Pakistan, the physician, Dr Ruth Pfau (1929 – 2017).
The World Health Organization recently reported that thousands of adults and children have been diagnosed with leprosy in 2023. Many were diagnosed with visible disabilities such as blindness, clawed hands or lost digits, that will affect their lives forever. Moreover, it is readily acknowledged that millions more are undiagnosed, spreading infection within their communities or, living with its life-changing effects such as blindness, clawed hands, or chronic tropical ulcers. Leprosy causes more disability than other infectious diseases. World Health Organization Leprosy is also one of the most stigmatised diseases on earth. A leprosy diagnosis is a life sentence for some, often considered a curse from God and the result of sin. Many people with leprosy are thrown out of their homes, communities, or forced to leave their employment leading to a life of begging. Leprosy is still a legitimate reason to divorce in some countries. It is also a reason that anyone fearing that they may have caught leprosy, is too frightened to ask for a diagnosis.
Think how often we hear the word “leper” used in a derogatory fashion. Hundreds of leprosy communities, sometimes referred to as colonies, still exist in remote locations throughout the world where people ostracised by leprosy, live out the rest of their lives. As Archbishop John Wilson said in his address at St Francis Leprosy Guild’s 125th anniversary Mass in London in 2021: “If we think leprosy is a thing of the past, then we are sadly mistaken.”
Leprosy is a disease of the nerves which causes a lack of sensation in peripheral parts of the body such as the hands and feet. This lack of sensation leads to unintentional injury, chronic ulcers and, if left untreated, clawing of hands and feet, amputation, and blindness.
There is a widespread fear that leprosy is a highly contagious disease. In reality, it is difficult to catch and ninety-five percent of us are naturally immune. Doctors and scientists are not sure exactly how leprosy is spread, but it is thought through airborne droplet infection such as from coughing and sneezing. Prolonged and close contact with someone with undiagnosed leprosy, such as between a parent and child, friends, or neighbours, may also contribute. People with depleted immune systems or who have poor nutrition, drink unsafe water, and live with inadequate sanitation are more likely to catch leprosy.
A bacterium causes leprosy and, it can be cured by a combination of antibiotics, called multidrug therapy or MDT. MDT is available throughout the world to treat people with leprosy if they can be found and diagnosed. Since the 1980s, over sixteen million people have been cured of leprosy.
Toolkit to support World Leprosy Day 2025
Our prayer for people affected by leprosy
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