Blessed Damien of Molokai Moves Toward Canonization

Update: The website CVSTOS FIDEI is reporting that Blessed Damien is soon to be Canonized! 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.

Honolulu, Apr. 30, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Vatican theological consultors have recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Damien of Molokai, the Honolulu diocese has revealed.

Audrey Toguchi, who saw cancerous tumors disappear from her lungs after she prayed to Blessed Damien, has disclosed that a Vatican official told her that the cure had been recognized as a miracle. Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu confirmed that theological consultors for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints had approved the miracle. Upon review by the full Congregation, that miracle could fulfill the requirement for Blessed Damien's canonization.

Father Damien was a native of Belgium who served as a missionary in a leper colony on Molokai, eventually contracting the disease himself. He died in Hawaii in 1889, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995.