KGMB TV Hawaii - Father Damien to Become Catholic Saint

NEWS KGMB TV Hawaii - Announcement of Damien's canonisation click here >>>>>>

July 3rd. Hawaii: - Rev. Damien de Veuster, better known at Father Damien, will be recognized by the Catholic Church as a saint. Thursday Pope Benedict XVI declared Father Damien has performed a second miracle, a prerequisite for sainthood. Father Damien came to the then Sandwich Islands in 1864. He dedicated his life to serving people who had been banished to Kalaupapa on Molokai with leprosy. He eventually contracted the disease and died in 1889 at the age of 49.

Catholics in Hawaii are celebrating the honor being bestowed upon Father Damien. "It is with a great sigh of relief that finally our prayers are being answered and that recognition will be given to this holy man ... this wonderful priest who worked so hard for the cause of those that were the least of our brothers. The outcasts of society," said Rev. Christopher Keahi, the Provincial Superior of the Sacred Hearts Fathers in Hawaii, the same order Father Damien belonged to.

According to the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu Father Damien's second miracle happened in 1999. An Oahu woman named Audrey Toguchi was dying of lung cancer when she went to Father Damien's grave on Molokai and prayed to him. Although her condition was terminal, the cancer vanished and she is still alive today.

The first miracle was recognized by the Vatican in 1992. It involved a French woman who, in 1895, was dying of intestinal disease. She too prayed to Father Damien, recovered and lived for another 32 years. Catholics all over Hawaii are celebrating, including people at Honolulu's Damien Memorial School. If you look at a young man who is from Belgium coming to Hawaii and giving up his life knowing the consequences of his work but doing it for religious purposes, it is very inspiring," said Bernard Ho, President and C.E.O. of Damien School. "The Catholic community and the Damien community have been waiting for this for a while. We've been praying for it for a while and it's finally answered our prayers."

There is no official word on when Father Damien will be canonized to sainthood, but sources within the church said it probably will not happen before February of 2009 at the very earliest. The ceremony will happen at the Vatican in Rome with people from Hawaii and Belgium in attendance.
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Le Pere Damien Sera Canonise

Juli 3 RTBF Belgique: - Le pape Benoît XVI a signé le document permettant la canonisation du Père Damien. Avec cette décision, il deviendra sans doute bientôt "Saint Damien de Molokaï". Le Père Damien, missionnaire belge ayant oeuvré dans la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle auprès des lépreux sur l'île de Molokai (Hawaii), a été béatifié en 1995 par le pape Jean Paul II.

Le pape Benoît XVI a signé le document permettant la canonisation du Père Damien, a déclaré le porte-parole du cardinal Godfried Danneels, Hans Geybels. Le cardinal a tenu à remercier le pape pour cette décision. "Le pape a consenti à la publication du décret reconnaissant le miracle attribué à l'intercession du bienheureux Père Damien, l'apôtre des lépreux", annonce le cardinal Danneels dans un communiqué. "Avec cette décision, s'ouvre la voie d'une future canonisation de celui qui deviendra sans doute bientôt 'Saint Damien de Molokaï'".

Le Père Damien, missionnaire belge ayant oeuvré dans la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle auprès des lépreux sur l'île de Molokai (Hawaii), a été béatifié en 1995 par le pape Jean Paul II. Le miracle attribué par la commission vaticane concerne une habitante d'Honolulu, Audrey Toguchi, qui souffrait fin des années '90 d'une forme rare de cancer des poumons. Son mal aurait disparu "de manière inexpliquée" alors qu'elle invoquait chaque jour le Père Damien. La commission de théologiens du Vatican y a vu une guérison miraculeuse. Celle-ci a été approuvée par les cardinaux et évêques de la Congrégation pour la cause des saints avant d'être approuvée par le pape. La date de la canonisation n'a pas été fixée mais celle-ci devrait se dérouler à Rome.

Dans un communiqué, le cardinal Danneels a tenu à remercier le Pape. "Merci, Saint Père, de faire un tel cadeau à l'Eglise", dit-il. "L'apôtre des lépreux est tout le contraire d'un saint de porcelaine. C'était un prêtre bien de son époque, qui a puisé dans sa confiance en Dieu la force de partager jusqu'au bout la vie des intouchables de son temps", poursuit le cardinal. De son côté, le ministre flamand Geert Bourgeois (N-VA) a annoncé son intention d'inviter le pape Benoît XVI à organiser la canonisation du Père Damien à Tremelo, son lieu de naissance, a-t-il indiqué jeudi à l'Agence Belga.
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Belgian Priest who treated Leprosy Patients in Hawaii Moves Closer to Sainthood

(Left Fr. Ed Popish, sscc Right Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu)

HONOLULU, Hawaii: July 3rd. (International Herald Tribune) - The question of whether Father Damien, a Belgian priest who dedicated his life in the 19th century to serving leprosy patients in Hawaii, will become a saint is now in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI. The pope on Thursday will be presented a document attributing a modern miracle to the priest, who helped leprosy patients exiled to a remote peninsula on Molokai, one of the Hawaiian islands. "At that point we will have to wait, with patience and prudence," the Rev. Ed Popish, treasurer of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in Rome, said in an e-mail Wednesday.

Under the Vatican's saint-making procedures, two miracles must to attributed to the candidate's intercession in order for the person to be made a saint. If the first miracle is approved, the person is beatified, and if the second miracle is approved, the person can be made a saint, or canonized. In 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified Damien after church authorities determined he had been responsible for a miracle in 1895. The second miracle has to do with a Honolulu woman, Audrey Toguchi, who recovered from terminal lung cancer in 1999 after she made a pilgrimage to Kalaupapa, where Damien had cared for banished and quarantined leprosy patients. She prayed to the priest, and attributed the healing to the intercession of Damien. The case was written up in the Hawaii Medical Journal in 2000 in an article about complete spontaneous regression of cancer. Her doctor also encouraged her to report her recovery to the church.

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints, comprised of bishops and cardinals, recently agreed that Toguchi's recovery defied medical explanation. "It's such an exciting time in our lives that one of our men, one of us here in Hawaii, has attained the highest rank of sanctity and will soon be declared a saint in the church," said the Rev. Christopher Keahi, head of the Sacred Hearts order of Hawaii. Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said canonization is important, "not simply as a recognition of the saintly heroism of Father Damien, but so that, following his example, we may all be renewed in holiness and in our dedication to those brothers and sisters who are most in need." More than 8,000 people were banished to the remote Molokai peninsula after leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, became epidemic in Hawaii in the 1850s. Forced quarantine did not end until 1969 after drugs were developed to control the disease. Born Joseph de Veuster in 1840, Damien came to Hawaii in 1864, joining other missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He went to Kalaupapa nine years later, ministering to patients until he contracted Hansen's disease himself and died in 1889 at the age of 49.
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Pope Clears Way for Belgian Priest to become Saint

VATICAN CITY: July 3rd. (Chichago Tribune) - Pope Benedict on Thursday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of a 19th century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii -- opening the way for him to be declared a saint. Benedict declared that a Honolulu woman's recovery in 1999 from terminal lung cancer was the miracle needed for canonization of the Rev. Damien de Veuster. The miracle was attributed to the intercession of the late priest, to whom the woman, Audrey Toguchi, had prayed. The approval means that Father Damien, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995, will be canonized at a date still to be set. "It's such an exciting time in our lives that one of our men, one of us here in Hawaii, has attained the highest rank of sanctity and will soon be declared a saint in the church," said the Rev. Christopher Keahi, head of the Sacred Hearts order of Hawaii.

Born Joseph de Veuster in 1840, Damien went to Hawaii in 1864 and joined other missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Nine years later he began ministering to leprosy patients on the remote Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai island, where some 8,000 people had been banished amid an epidemic in Hawaii in the 1850s. The priest eventually contracted the disease, also known as Hansen's disease, and died in 1889 at 49. Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said canonization is important, "not simply as a recognition of the saintly heroism of Father Damien, but so that, following his example, we may all be renewed in holiness and in our dedication to those brothers and sisters who are most in need."

The Vatican's saint-making procedures require that a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession be confirmed in order to be beatified. Damien was beatified after the Vatican declared that the 1987 recovery of a Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary nun was a miracle. The nun recovered from an illness after praying to Damien. After beatification, a second miracle is needed for sainthood. A date for canonization was not expected to be set until February. Damien's body was exhumed from his Molokai grave in 1936 and his remains sent back to Belgium for reburial. In 1995, a relic of his right hand was given back to the Hawaii diocese and returned to the Molokai grave. The decree for Father Damien was one of 13 approved by the pope for people in various stages of the sainthood process.
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON |Associated Press Writer
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Kalaupapa Patients Look Forward to Sainthood Celebration

WAILUKU, Hawaii: July 3rd. (Honolulu Advertiser) — A final recommendation for canonization of the Blessed Damien of Kalaupapa will be in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI today, the last step toward the famed priest's journey to sainthood. "Everyone prays to Father Damien to make life easier and is looking forward to the celebration," said Gloria Marks, who with her husband, Richard, owns Damien Tours. Both are leprosy patients at Kalaupapa. "We have been waiting for this for a long time. "What's sad is that a lot of them that were waiting passed away and didn't get a chance to see him become a saint."

The recommendation for sainthood for the Belgium-born Joseph de Veuster, who took on the name Father Damien on his ordination to the priesthood, was approved earlier this week by the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. "At that point we will have to wait, with patience and prudence for the Vatican's communication about the Holy Father's action with regard to this document," according to an e-mail sent yesterday from Rome by the Rev. Ed Popish of Damien's international order, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. Representatives of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and the order said they do not expect Damien's official canonization ceremony in Vatican City, called a consistory, to occur until mid to late 2009. Typically, two or three people are canonized each year by the pope.

The ceremony will likely be scheduled when the Congregation for the Causes of Saints sets the date in February, said diocesan spokesman Patrick Downes. "In light of the fact that the canonization seems imminent, I have already been working with the Diocesan Father Damien/Mother Marianne Commission, which I founded to promote their causes for sainthood, in planning for both local celebrations and pilgrimages and for a pilgrimage to Rome and Belgium," wrote Bishop Larry Silva of the diocese in an e-mail Wednesday. Blessed Mother Marianne Cope, a Franciscan nun who served patients at Kalaupapa, also awaits canonization. Despite the additional wait, Hawaii Catholics were buoyed by the news of the man who gave his life to care for the once-ostracized Hansen's disease, or leprosy, patients and serves as an inspiration for compassion to people across the globe. "It's an exciting thought that finally Father Damien will be given praise for giving comfort to those who were treated as the dreck of society," said the Very Rev. Christopher Keahi, who is the superior of the Hawaii province of Damien's order. Keahi said the recognition is a tremendous step for the faithful of Hawai'i. Now that Damien will be raised to the rank of sainthood, Keahi said, Catholics will understand that it is not impossible and all can aspire to holiness. Damien's order and admirers have pushed for his sainthood since he died in 1889 at age 49. He had contracted leprosy while serving the sick and exiled people of the colony on the remote north coast peninsula on Molokai.

Kalaupapa remains home to 14 leprosy patients, all cured but scarred by the disease, and is a National Historic Park. It is also home to the church that the former carpenter helped build, St. Philomena, which stands next to Damien's lei-draped grave. His remains were exhumed for reburial in Belgium, but a relic, his right hand, was returned to the remote site to be buried next to the church in 1995. "It's been a long time coming that he will be recognized by the universal church," Downes said. "Now, there will be a St. Damien Day put on the church calendar. . . . It's a great honor, not only for the Catholic Church in Hawaii but for the people of Hawai'i and particularly for the Hansen's patients who still live in Kalaupapa and are a living legacy to the charity of Blessed Damien." While known through his life and death as Father Damien, his Catholic title was raised to Blessed Damien when he was beatified with the first determination of a miracle attributed to his intervention. Although the people of Kalaupapa suffered, it was a place that has always inspired hope as well, said state Sen. J. Kalani English in a statement. English, whose 6th District includes Kalawao County and the Kalaupapa settlement, is among those working to get the state to issue a formal apology to the 8,000 patients who were forced to live and die on Kalaupapa and create a monument to them. "To think that a saint walked among the humble residents of Kalaupapa and eased their burdens is deeply moving and a reminder that we never know who among us will have the power to change the world," English said.

Damien may have been born in Europe as Joseph de Veuster, but it was here that he became a hero, Downes said. He lived with Native Hawaiians, learned the language, ate the food, cared for the sick and injured, and built homes. Damien fought to improve conditions at Kalaupapa through his order and patronage and was diagnosed with leprosy five years before his death. Pope John Paul II beatified Damien in Brussels in 1995. Gloria Marks, 70, attended the ceremony and received communion from the pope. She said this time she will only make a trip to Honolulu for a planned celebration there. The road to sainthood has been very complicated and demanded that two miracles be attributed to Damien. Church authorities first determined that Damien had been responsible for a miracle dating to 1895, leading to his beatification a century later. In that case, a French nun dying of a gastrointestinal illness reportedly experienced a miraculous recovery after beginning a novena to Damien before slipping into unconsciousness. Then, this summer, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, composed of bishops and cardinals, approved the second miracle that was previously supported by a panel of theologians and a five-doctor Vatican commission. The church determined that a Honolulu woman's healing of terminal lung cancer defied medical explanation. Audrey Toguchi was cured in 1999 after she made a pilgrimage to Kalaupapa and prayed to the priest. She attributed the healing to the intercession of Damien. The case was written up by her doctor, Walter Chang, in the Hawaii Medical Journal in 2000 in an article about complete spontaneous regression of cancer. Chang also encouraged her to report her recovery to the church.

Interest in Damien has steadily grown since his beatification, Molokai residents said. Molokai Mule Ride brings tour groups six days a week down the 1,600-foot cliff to visit Kalaupapa. Noah John Horner, operations manager for the company, said mounting interest in Damien can also be attributed to recent books and movies produced about his life. "We're sold out for the next seven days," Horner said. "A lot of Catholics are trying to come out here." Federal law limits the number of visitors to the park to 100 per day, a limit based on patients' preferences to maintain their quiet, private lives. "It's a big deal," Downes said. "Hawai'i has its own saint now. I don't think Montana has its saint yet."

Steps to Sainthood

According to the Roman Catholic Church, steps to sainthood were finalized in 1588. Pope John Paul II in 1983 promulgated the canon norms:

Initiation of an investigation of Christian virtues by the bishop of the diocese requesting canonization.

On determination of a life of heroic theological virtues, reception of the title of servant of God. The diocesan investigation and further investigations are reviewed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Being credited with a miracle, leading to beatification and being recognized as blessed.

Being credited with a second miracle subsequent to being recognized as blessed. The pope has the authority to waive the requirements.

A final recommendation from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints is presented to the pope.

A celebration, called a consistory, advances the blessed to sainthood.
By Chris Hamilton
Maui News Staff Writer

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Kalaupapa exults ‘Saint’ Damien

The priest who devoted his life to leprosy patients on Molokai will be canonized
Honolulu, Hawaii: July 3rd. (Honolulu Star Bulletin) - People across Hawaii rejoiced at the news that Father Damien De Veuster was closer to being declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Sister Frances 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."

In Rome today, Pope Benedict XVI approved the canonization documents for Father Damien, which had been approved and signed by cardinals and bishops in the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, according to church officials. It was the final approval on the part of that body. 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, Patrick Downes, a local spokesman for the Catholic Church said yesterday. 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 added that it may 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." Bishop Larry 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. Father Damien had a very challenging life, and he deserves this recognition," she said. "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."
By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com
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Vatican Votes To Elevate Father Damien To Sainthood

July 2nd: - The Congregation of the Causes of Saints at the Vatican has voted to canonize Father Damien of Molokai to sainthood. After the verification of two medical miracles, after decades of investigation into the life and works of Damien De Veuster, the Consisterie at the Vatican has at long last voted to elevate the Martyr of Molokai to its Pantheon of Saints. The measure now awaits the signature of Pope Benedict XVI. "People are very excited because they know he was a great person and role model, and that is the most important thing of the sanctification, he finally can be the role model we need," Damien historian Hilde Eynikel told KITV from Belgium.

The search is now on for a relic of Father Damien, which will be presented to the pope at the sanctification. A relic can be something touched by the saint, worn by the saint, or an actual body part of the saint. The diocese in Brussels is now looking into the retrieval of such a relic from Damien's tomb in Leuven, Belgium.

Damien's grave in Kalaupapa contains only his right hand, which was re-interred following his beatification in 1995. The canonization will take place in Rome, possibly at the end of next year, with celebrations in Belgium and Hawaii. The pope will probably not travel to Hawaii. Cardinal Daneels of Belgium may be in attendance. Supporters of the sainthood effort are overjoyed that now the world will know what Hawaii has known for 100 years -- that Father Damien of Molokai is a saint.

He was born Joseph De Veuster in Tremeloo, Belgium, in 1840. De Veuster's older brother, Pamphile, was set to travel to the "Sandwich Islands," but was too sick to go. Instead, De Veuster traveled to Hawaii in his brother's place. The Roman Catholic priest arrived in Hawaii in 1864 and took the name Damien. He served the leprosy patients at the Molokai colony at Kalaupapa for 12 years before he succumbed to Hansen's disease at age 49. His body was exhumed from his Molokai grave in 1936 when his remains were sent to Belgium, for reburial. In 1995, a relic of his right hand was given back to the Hawaii Diocese and returned to his Molokai grave.
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