HONOLULU – The path to sainthood has grown shorter for a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium who ministered to exiled leprosy patients in Hawaii in the 19th century.

Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday was to be presented a document confirming that a modern miracle has been attributed to Father Damien de Veuster.

“At that point we will have to wait, with patience and prudence for the Vatican's communication about the Holy Father's action with regard to this document,” the Rev. Ed Popish, treasurer of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in Rome, said in an e-mail Wednesday.

The congregation, comprised of bishops and cardinals, recently approved the miracle that was previously signed off by a panel of theologians and a five-doctor Vatican commission, which determined a Honolulu woman's healing of terminal lung cancer defied medical explanation.

The woman, Audrey Toguchi, was cured in 1999 after she made a pilgrimage to Damien's mission and prayed to the priest. She attributed the healing to the intercession of Damien.

Church authorities already determined Damien had been responsible for another miracle dating to 1895, leading to his beatification a century later. In that case, a French nun dying of a gastrointestinal illness reportedly experienced a miraculous recovery after praying to Damien.

The Vatican's complicated saint-making procedures require that a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession be confirmed before beatification. A second miracle is necessary for canonization.

Damien was beatified in 1995 by Pope John Paul II. A date for canonization isn't expected to be determined until February, even if the pope approves the document within the next few days.

The news of Damien's potential canonization was celebrated in Hawaii, where the priest is revered for his sacrifice and compassion. There is a statue of Damien fronting the state Capitol and a Honolulu school is named in his honor.

“It's such an exciting time in our lives that one of our men, one of us here in Hawaii, has attained the highest rank of sanctity and will soon be declared a saint in the church,” said the Rev. Christopher Keahi, head of the Sacred Hearts order of Hawaii.

Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said canonization is important, “not simply as a recognition of the saintly heroism of Father Damien, but so that, following his example, we may all be renewed in holiness and in our dedication to those brothers and sisters who are most in need.”

Born Joseph de Veuster in 1840, Damien came to Hawaii in 1864, joining other missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He went to a remote peninsula on Molokai nine years later, ministering to patients until he contracted Hansen's disease himself and died in 1889 at the age of 49.

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