Audrey Toguchi, a former teacher at Aiea High School on Oahu, was cured of cancer after Father Damien interceded on her behalf, declared a committee of the Roman Catholic Church. This miracle puts Father Damien two steps away from sainthood.

Toguchi, the granddaughter of a Hansen’s disease patient who had been banished to Kalaupapa before the quarantine ended in 1969, was diagnosed with deadly cancer after a lump was found on her left hip in 1997. This rare and aggressive type of cancer spread to both of her lungs. Her physician, Dr. Walter Chang, gave Toguchi a bleak prognosis. Dr. Chang has since quit medicine and has written about this case in the Hawai'i Medical Journal in 2000.

This was the second event that church officials have called miracles attributable to Damien's intercession with God. Both assessments came after years of inquiry and fact-checking by church investigators.

Damien was beatified in 1995 by Pope John Paul II in Belgium and is now called Blessed Damien by Catholics. The next step in the path to sainthood is for the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to issue their opinion, which goes to Pope Benedict for a final decision. If approved, Damien would be the first Catholic saint with Hawai'i ties.

The Molokai Catholic Community is celebrating Father Damien’s life between May 1-10. This will end May 10 with a day of healing and a dinner with entertainment. Everyone is welcome. Call 553-5220 between 9-11:30 a.m. for dinner tickets and information.