The Rev. Marc Alexander opened last night's Mass of Thanksgiving with the words "Today is a special day of joy."

Among those sharing the joy were dignitaries, more than 200 congregants and Audrey Toguchi, the 'Aiea woman who prayed to Damien and saw her cancer cured.

"We are grateful indeed that Father Damien will be given as a gift to the world to emulate," Alexander told the crowd at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.

Besides the white of nun habits and colorful priestly vestments, also seen were Reyn Spooner mu'umu'u and aloha shirts bearing the likeness of Damien.

The mood was just as colorful.

"Early this morning, while I was in chapel, a sister came in with the (e-mail)," said Sister Julie Louise Thevenin, who belongs to the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts order.

She and fellow members of her Kaimuki convent came out to celebrate with the likes of the superintendent of Catholic schools, Carmen Himenes, who credits Damien with her own cancer cure.

"Our hearts are truly grateful for this day," Himenes said.

"It's very touching that a priest ordained here became a spiritual leader for the Hawaiian people," added her friend, Vi DeCaires.

Entertainer Glenn Medeiros shared a song he'd written for Damien, "You Were Not Afraid," one of three that he said just seemed to flow. A chance encounter with Alexander led him to not only take up the mike at Mass, but be asked to sing for the patients at Kalaupapa this morning, when another Mass of Thanksgiving is planned.

The news "means the world to me," said Medeiros, who grew up on Kaua'i. "I've always felt a strong connection to Father Damien."

He was surprised to learn that his former parish priest, the Rev. Felix Vandebroek, who encouraged him in his musical profession, is now ministering to the sick of Kalaupapa.

It wouldn't be the only connection at this service: Alexander himself started his sermon by explaining how, as a seminary student in Belgium, he often visited the church where Damien is entombed.

With Damien's canonization set for Oct. 11, Alexander talked in his sermon of what it means for Hawai'i.

"In one sense, it's just a date," he said. "But in another, it means so much more. He's been an incredible role model."

Damien reached out to the most desperate in an almost "radical selflessness," Alexander said: "These are people who didn't know him at all."

And he's not just a role model for Catholics or people of Hawai'i, he added.

"He's a hero for all who have a human heart," Alexander said.