He asked to come to Honolulu so that another priest could hear his confessions, but his Father Superior forbade him. He finally relented, but insisted that if Damien had to come to Honolulu, he would stay at the Franciscan Sisters' leper hospital. He was not allowed to leave his room for the duration of his stay, which was a week. He spoke of her rejection by him as "the greatest suffering he had ever endured in his life". When Father Damien returned to Molokai, he was completely alone. He continually asked his superiors for an assistant, not only to help him with his ever-increasing work, but also to provide him with spiritual comfort. They were still reluctant to help, as two other Sacred Hearts brothers had already contracted leprosy during their stay on the island. As Father Damien approached death, he engaged in a flurry of activity. He continued to recite the Breviary as best he could because his eyes were growing weak and the disease was invading his trachea, preventing him from sleeping for more than an hour or two during the night. He was forty-nine years old when he died on April 15, 1889. Shortly before his death, he wrote in a letter to his brother: "I am going gently to my grave. It is the will of God, and I thank him." very much for letting me die of the same disease and in the same way as my lepers, I am very satisfied and very happy" ("Father Damien" par.