Father Damien: Another Hero

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Update:

• "Father Damien? Make that Saint Damien of Molokai"
  (May 11, 2010)

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Father Damien to be canonized.

"19th Century Belgian Priest Who Aided Lepers in Hawaii to Become Saint"
FOXNews (February 21, 2009)

"A 19th-century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii will be declared a saint Oct. 11 at a Vatican ceremony presided over by Pope Benedict XVI.

"The Rev. Damien de Veuster's canonization date was set Saturday during a meeting between Benedict and cardinals at the Apostolic Palace.

"De Veuster will be canonized along with four other people, the Vatican said.

"In July, Benedict approved a miracle attributed to the priest's intercession, declaring that a Honolulu woman's recovery in 1999 from terminal lung cancer was the miracle needed for him to be made a saint.

"He was beatified — a step toward sainthood - in 1995 by Pope John Paul II...."

This is good news for me. I don't remember having many 'heroes' as a child or youth, although there were people whose accomplishments I admired.

Father Damien, when I learned about him, went into my short list of "heroes:" people who willingly gave up their own safety, wealth, and sometimes lives, for others. Think Horatio at the bridge and Pliny the Elder, in Western Civilization's history.