A step closer

A Catholic council approves Father Damien for sainthood

People across Hawaii rejoiced at news yesterday that Father Damien De Veuster is one major step closer to being declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

Sister Frances of Molokai said people at the Kalaupapa convent "have been waiting forever, it seems," for the canonization of Father Damien, who ministered to leprosy patients at Kalaupapa in the 1800s.

"He deserves it, and it's a long-awaited process for him," she said. "He gave his life for it, for the disease. People say you lay down your life for your friend. He literally did that, so I say he deserves it."

Pope Benedict XVI was expected to receive today the canonization documents for Father Damien, which have been approved and signed by cardinals and bishops in the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, according to church officials. It is the final approval on the part of that body.

"It's saying this is really going to happen now," said Patrick Downes, a local spokesman for the Catholic Church.

The pope will consider the canonization and - if he approves - sign the documents, which could take some time.

Father Felix Vandebroek of Kalaupapa said he got a call yesterday morning from Belgian Catholic Church officials that "the canonization of Father Damien would be most probably in 2009."

The canonization would most likely take place in Rome, though the last one was in Brazil, Downes said. It is unlikely the pope would come to Hawaii for canonization due to the cost and distance, he said. Damien, however, was beatified in his homeland of Belgium in 1995 on account of a miracle cure of a French nun in 1895.

Damien was considered for sainthood after a requisite second miracle was reported by Aiea resident Audrey Toguchi, who prayed at Damien's grave in Kalaupapa after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She wrote to the late Pope John Paul II that after four months without treatment, she was cured in 1997.

Residents in Kalaupapa have heard the news, and "everybody is happy about it," Vandebroek said, but he added that it might not have sunk in yet.

"To realize what it really means, it takes a little while," he said. "They all are enthused, Catholics and non-Catholics, but not exactly jumping high from joy. You can tell it in the feelings. They feel that Damien is their hero."

Vandebroek, also a Belgian, expressed his own feelings: "You feel proud. You feel happy. You feel grateful for what he did."

Hawaii Bishop Larry Silva said, "We thank God that the process is positively advancing. However, it is the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, who must ultimately decide whether Father Damien will be officially declared a saint."

Silva said sources in Rome revealed the matter was to have been presented to the pope Monday but was postponed until today. "Even if the Holy Father makes his decision (today), it is possible we will have to wait several more months before a date is set for the Canonization Mass."

Silva said plans are being made for local celebrations and pilgrimages and for a pilgrimage to Rome and Belgium.

Parishioner Maria Sullivan, a former Seattle resident, said she moved to Molokai because "it was the Hawaii I was longing for, and Father Damien called me."

She added, "Father Damien had a very challenging life, and he deserves this recognition. Many of us believe he's a saint in heaven and he deserves this recognition because he was such a wonderful steward and he extended everyday kindnesses to people. ... He built a community of love where there was none."