Damien's journey to sainthood 'looks hopeful'

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

A formal tribunal has begun its investigation into a possible miracle that may prove to be the final leg of Damien de Veuster's journey to sainthood.

The Rev. Joseph Grimaldi, the vicar general of the Honolulu Diocese, said he's not sure how much time the panel will need to examine an O'ahu woman's claim that her cancer was cured following prayer to the Belgian priest renowned for his service to the Hansen's disease patients of Kalaupapa, Moloka'i.

But so far, he said, the case for Damien's canonization "looks hopeful," and if all goes well, Damien could be a saint within a year.

Grimaldi's optimism is supported by a paper published in the October 2000 edition of Hawai'i Medical Journal. The author, Honolulu physician Dr. Walter Y.M. Chang, documented the spontaneous regression of the unidentified woman's lung cancer, showing how a malignant tumor grew in September 1998 and then disappeared without the aid of therapy.

The spontaneous regression of this type of cancer may be the first case report of its kind, according to the paper.

The woman testified before the panel last week that after she was diagnosed with cancer, she traveled to Kalaupapa to pray at the grave of Damien, asking him to intercede with God on her behalf.

Grimaldi said eight doctors who treated the woman during her ordeal will be among the witnesses interviewed by the panel, along with two other physicians unrelated to the case.

Joining Grimaldi on the panel convened by Honolulu Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo are Dr. Philip Jones, a physician who is not Catholic; the Rev. Robert Maher, a Capuchin priest; and diocesan chancellor John Ringrose.

A detailed brief containing evidence, conclusions and recommendations will be sent to Rome. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints — a Vatican committee of cardinals, priests, nuns, lay people and canon lawyers — will make the final recommendation to the pope.

A public ceremony will be held in Hawai'i to mark the conclusion of the tribunal's work, Grimaldi said.

Damien, who is one step away from sainthood, earned the title of "blessed" in 1995 on the basis of a miracle that was reported to have occurred six years after his death in 1889.

While hundreds of cases are being considered for possible canonization, the difference for Damien could be his worldwide reputation for service to the sick and outcast of Kalaupapa.

What's more, Damien's order, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, has taken up the cause, having sent a Rome-based representative here as postulator to see the process through.