The Vatican has accepted the second required miracle in the process of naming our own Father Damien a saint.

We see his statue gracing the entrance to our state Capitol in downtown Honolulu. I walked past it every day for five years when I was a chaplain at The Queen's Medical Center.

His story was an inspiration for me, a role model, teaching us all how to care for the sick and the dying.

When I celebrated morning Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, I often remembered that Damien was ordained to the priesthood in that very building.

Each of the 50 states is asked to send statues of two of its most beloved and famous citizens to stand in our national Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Hawai'i is represented by King Kamehameha the Great and Father Damien.

Why has Damien touched the hearts of so many people? First, he arrived at Kalaupapa at a desperate time. He brought hope to the hopeless; he built buildings to house and care for people; he ministered to their spiritual needs.

But there was something much more that he taught us all. My faith tradition, Roman Catholicism, teaches us that Jesus "became flesh," the divine entered into our humanity to teach us to walk through the challenges of life with hope and conviction.

God so loved us that he became one of us.

Damien imitated Jesus in that wonderful, self-sacrificing way. Damien would bandage the sick with his bare hands, not worrying about becoming infected himself.

He shared plates and pipes with those who felt shunned by the outside world, even some of their own families.

Father Damien did not want anyone to feel untouchable, he wanted to be one with his people. One morning at Mass, when he had discovered the dreaded disease growing on his own body, he addressed the congregation as "we lepers."

He had truly become one with them, and made a statement about what was so important to him, their dignity as children of a loving God.

I remember in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, some people were so afraid of this unknown disease that they treated those afflicted like untouchables, people to be afraid of.

I always trained our volunteers to treat the patients with love and respect, never with fear. One AIDS patient brought me to tears when he smiled at me and said, "Father, I feel so comfortable with you, you always take my hand and bring smile to my face."

How could a disciple of Damien do anything else?

The Rev. Jack Ryan is a Catholic priest and pastor of St. John the Baptist in Kalihi. Expressions of Faith is a column that welcomes submissions from pastors, priests, lay workers and other leaders in faith and spirituality. E-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com or call 525-8035. Articles submitted to The Advertiser may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.