Father Damien de Veuster, the Sacred Hearts priest who cared for Hansen's disease patients in Kalaupapa on Moloka'i and died of the disease in 1889, was canonized on Oct. 11. He is Hawai'i's first saint. See our special report.
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Damien honored in D.C.
The word "saint" isn't used much on Capitol Hill. But it was yesterday among Hawai'i's lawmakers and a bishop from the Aloha State, who gathered to honor the recently canonized Saint Damien. The Catholic missionary spent his adult life caring for people with Hansen's disease on Moloka'i more than a century ago. 
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Biography
Damien de Veuster was born in Belgium in 1840 and arrived in Kalaupapa, the Moloka'i settlement for Hansen's disease patients, in 1873 at age 33. He died in 1889 of the disease. His legacy of service to the people of Kalaupapa will be honored with his elevation to sainthood.
Canonization
Damien will be named a saint on Oct. 11, 2009, in Rome. Hundreds of Hansen's disease patients are expected to attend the canonization.
Coverage
The Advertiser will provide in-depth, live coverage of the canonization of Father Damien this fall. Advertiser Staff Writer Mary Vorsino will be traveling with Honolulu Diocese Bishop Larry Silva on his official pilgrimage tour to Damien's birthplace in Belgium and to Rome. Eleven patients from Kalaupapa will also be traveling with the group.
Reach Mary at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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Saint Damien relic returns to Hawaii home  
A relic of St. Damien was placed in its permanent home yesterday, in the cathedral where the Sacred Hearts priest was ordained, following a celebration on the lawn of Iolani Palace where at least 1,000 people gathered to honor a man whose lessons of kindness and compassion have crossed religions and oceans.
Maui faithful celebrate Damien relic
The stately koa reliquary carrying a foot bone from newly canonized St. Damien de Veuster continued its statewide tour yesterday with visits to several Maui parishes, including the church where the Belgian priest was called to serve the Hansen's disease settlement at Kalawao on the isolated peninsula of Kalaupapa.
Damien relic honored on Big Isle
KEAUKAHA, Hawaii — More than a century after Father Damien died among his brethren on a forgotten peninsula on Moloka'i, the memory of his sacrifice remains strong. A sacred relic — a bone from the right foot of the newly canonized Saint Damien de Veuster — entered the grounds of the Malia Puka O Kalani Catholic Church this week to the pealing of a bell and the sounding of a conch.
Hawaii pilgrims celebrate as Damien finally gets his due
At home, perhaps, they would have celebrated with a lu'au. But in Rome, they gathered for a six-course meal, topping off the dinner with a frosted cake that read, "St. Damien." More than 500 Hawai'i pilgrims gathered last night for a celebration dinner just hours after seeing the canonization of Father Damien in Vatican City.
Kalaupapa's citizens enthusiastic as they honor their new saint
The people of Kalaupapa honored newly sainted Damien yesterday by walking in his footsteps in a heavy mist, carrying a banner bearing his likeness. As they passed the settlement's care home where Hansen's disease patients live, some in the procession yelled out, "Happy St. Damien's day!"
Damien sainted in soaring ceremony
In front of at least 20,000 people this morning in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI made official what many in Hawai'i always knew — that "Kamiano" of Moloka'i, whose unwavering compassion in the face of so much suffering has become a parable for our times, led a life worthy of elevation to sainthood.
Writers compelled by Damien's story
Library of Congress
• 1986 Damien/Hawaii Public Television presents (Nino Martin; written by A. Morris)
• 1949 Pere Damien De Veuster; l'apotre des lepreux. Tr. Par M. Grandclaudon.
• 1905 Father Damien, the leper hero. Nicholas Senn
A legacy of compassion and care
Many had long considered Father Damien a saint. Today, in a ceremony in St. Peter's Square, the Roman Catholic Church made it official. For Catholics, the honor is a singular one — an affirmation of a holy life, the recognition of a modern Christian hero.
Saint Damien
Saint Damien, born Joseph de Veuster in Tremolo, Belgium, in 1840, volunteered to minister to Hansen's disease patients who had been sent to Kalaupapa. He worked in the settlement for 16 years, baptizing hundreds, celebrating Masses, building coffins and digging graves. He sat by the bedsides of the sickest, hearing their confessions, washing their bodies, bandaging their wounds. He was diagnosed with Hansen's disease in 1884 and died five years later, at age 49. People called for his elevation to sainthood shortly after his death. His official cause was introduced in 1955.
American saints and American blessed
North American Jesuit martyrs: Five French missionaries were martyred in Canada; another three in New York. Those who were killed in New York were Saints Isaac Jogues, René Goupil and Jean Lalande. Their shrine is at Auriesville, N.Y. Canonized in 1930.
Kalaupapa: A brief history
Where is Kalaupapa National Historical Park? The park is on the north shore of the island of Moloka'i, Hawai'i, in Kalawao County. It is a unit of the National Park System.
Belgian relatives flock to rome
Among the thousands expected in St. Peter's Square for the canonization of Father Damien are 127 with a special connection to the Sacred Hearts priest. They are most of Father Damien's living relatives. The youngest is 2, the oldest 90.
First-class relic on its way
Today in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI will give Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva a small box containing the right heel of Hawai'i's first saint.
An unorthodox design
There are hundreds of depictions of Father Damien in art. Statues, stained glass windows, paintings. But perhaps none are as recognizable as the bronze statue that fronts the state Capitol building.
Hansen's disease still found here
Damien's elevation to sainthood has renewed efforts to eliminate the centuries-old stigma attached to Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy.
Prayers led to a cure
Audrey Toguchi prays to Damien every day. She prays for her family and for strangers who write and call to ask for her help. Sometimes, she says, she just talks to Damien like she would a friend.
Kalaupapa to honor Damien with a low-key celebration
KALAUPAPA, Moloka'i — The Hansen's disease settlement on this rugged-but-spectacular Moloka'i peninsula is even quieter than usual this weekend, with all but four of the remaining patients in Rome to witness Father Damien's rise to Catholic sainthood.
Silva tells pilgrims 'Damien cast out demons of despair'
VATICAN CITY — Some 530 Hawai'i pilgrims gathered this morning in the largest church in the world, in this religious and political seat of the Roman Catholic Church, to celebrate Father Damien because "he not only went, but he stayed."
Canonization schedule
Hawai'i will mark Father Damien's canonization through a number of events tomorrow and Sunday, including:
Pope greets Damien miracle woman from Hawaii
VATICAN CITY — Aiea resident Audrey Toguchi — whose cancer cure the Vatican calls a miracle by Father Damien — emerged from Saint Peter's Square yesterday a little wobbly on her feet after being greeted by the pope.
Hawaii pilgrims visit Damien tomb
"We pray we will never create a Kalaupapa for others," Honolulu Diocese Bishop Larry Silva said at a sermon yesterday for Hawai'i pilgrims, who packed the chapel above Father Damien's tomb in the same city where, 150 years ago, the 19-year-old son of a Belgian farmer became "Brother Damien."
Hawaii visitors see Damien statue
A bust of Father Damien in advanced stages of Hansen's disease was unveiled yesterday in front of his childhood home as part of celebrations in this small town to mark the elevation of the Sacred Hearts priest to sainthood.
Belgian royalty joins Damien celebration at his Tremelo birthplace
TREMELO, Belgium — Thousands of Belgians, including the country's royal couple, converged today on this small farming town where Father Damien was born to celebrate his elevation to sainthood with some of the last remaining patients of the Hansen's disease settlement in Kalaupapa, Moloka'i, where the Sacred Hearts priest gained worldwide fame for volunteering to minister to the sick.
Children's book traces life of Father Damien
An impressive work of historical fiction about the life of Joseph de Veuster, better known around the world as Father Damien, has been published locally and just in time for the newest saint's canonization Oct. 11 in Rome.
Trek for Damien tests endurance of Hansen's patients
HAWAII: NEWARK, N.J. — The 12,000-mile trek to Rome for Father Damien's canonization won't be easy for the 11 Hansen's disease patients making the journey. But they're determined to attend Damien's canonization, something many of them have been waiting a lifetime to see.
Damien celebration begins as group heads to Belgium
Almost immediately after Father Damien's death 120 years ago, people around the globe were calling for his elevation to sainthood. Yesterday, 351 Hawai'i residents — some of whom were integral to Damien's canonization cause — left for Belgium for the culmination of more than a century of work to honor the priest with the title "saint."
Halau celebrates Damien
Hawaii: On Thursday, when 11 Hansen's disease patients from Kalaupapa, Moloka'i, head to Belgium and Italy for a pilgrimage to culminate with the canonization of Father Damien in Rome, a 30-member hula halau will be with them to dance at a host of Masses and celebrations.
Damien troop off to canonization
Nine Boy Scouts from O'ahu — designated the St. Damien Troop by the Aloha Council — will be in Rome to witness the canonization of Blessed Damien de Veuster, the Catholic priest who ministered to Hansen's disease patients exiled to Kalawao.
Damien clan plans to attend ceremony
Among the thousands set to crowd St. Peter's Square for the canonization of Father Damien will be 127 people with a special connection to the Sacred Hearts priest. The youngest of the group is 2; the oldest is 90. Together, they represent most of Father Damien's living relatives.
Damien Web site offers news of coming event
The Diocese of Honolulu last month launched an official Blessed Damien Canonization Web site offering the latest news on activities related to the Roman Catholic Church's plan to declare the priest a saint, the first from Hawai'i.
Boy Scouts will troop to Rome for occasion
Ten Boy Scouts will be among the hundreds of Hawai'i residents expected to flock to Rome in October for the canonization of Father Damien. The scouts, ages 13 to 17, will shoot video of their travels for the Internet, post blog entries and chat with peers on Facebook in an effort to share the experiences of their trip with others.
Hawaii Hansen's disease patients will witness Damien's sainthood
Some 900 people at a sold-out dinner last night helped raise money to send 11 Hansen's disease patients in Kalaupapa to Rome for the canonization of Father Damien while also mourning others who championed the Sacred Hearts priest's cause but died before s
Damien book explores his life in Kalaupapa
A new book, "Father Damien: A Bit of Taro, A Piece of Fish and a Glass of Water," written by former Hawai'i residents Anwei and Henry Law, will be unveiled 3 to 5 p.m. July 19 at Native Books/Na Mea Hawai'i at Ward Warehouse.
Students 'walked where Father Damien walked'
Chris Kanamu stood yesterday at the steps of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, where Father Damien was ordained, as he talked about how he's been moved by the life of the Belgian priest known worldwide for his service to Hansen's disease patients.
Hansen's disease in spotlight again because of Hawaii priest
Father Damien's coming elevation to sainthood in October is renewing efforts to eliminate the centuries-old stigma attached to Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy.The illness still occurs — though rarely — in the United States and continues to be a public health concern in several developing nations.
Damien artifacts will get new Hawaii home
There is precious little space for new additions at the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts' archives room in Kane'ohe, which houses what is believed to be the biggest collection of Father Damien artifacts outside of Belgium.
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