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Pope Canonizes Father Damien

Belgian missionary, four others elevated to sainthood

By M. Morris, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 11, 2009 2:44 PM CDT

(Newser) – Father Damien, the Belgian missionary who ministered to leprosy victims on the Hawaiian island of Molokai before contracting and dying of the disease, was canonized today. The 19th-century priest, the founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and three others were elevated to sainthood in a ceremony that drew tens of thousands to St. Peter's Basilica and the surrounding area, the Catholic News Service reports.

Father Damien spoke for "rejected people of all kinds: the incurably ill (victims of AIDS or other diseases), abandoned children, disoriented youths, exploited women, neglected elderly people and oppressed minorities," the ceremony's official program read.

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Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Easter Mass at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, April 12, 2009. (Getty Images)

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Father Alfred Bell, who advocated for Father Damien's canonization, discusses the 19th-century Belgian missionary and his cause. (romereports)

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Pope Canonizes Father Damien