Vatican City, Oct 1, 2009 / 08:54 am
In less than two weeks, Pope Benedict will canonize five blesseds, including Fr. Damien de Veuster, a well-known Belgian missionary priest who cared for lepers in Hawaii.
The canonization ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, October 11 in St. Peter's Square.
The level of excitement in Hawaii has been quite high in the lead-up to Fr. Damian's canonization. Eleven lepers, who see the priest as their personal saint, and a group of Boy Scouts have made the voyage to the Vatican to be present for the ceremony at which the Church proclaims him a saint.
In order for a person to be declared a saint, they must undergo a rigorous process that usually lasts for years, if not decades.