Kalaupapa's Father Damien has been declared a saint.
In a Mass that began at 10 a.m. Sunday in Rome, 10 p.m. Saturday in Hawaii, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Damien and four others, formally lifting them to sainthood.
The ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican began with the pope reading a formal act of canonization, and continued with a chanting of the litany of saints.
Benedict then recited the formal words of canonization, and in reciting the names of Damien and the four others, made them saints of the Catholic Church.
For more, see the Sunday edition of The Maui News.
