Joseph de Veuster came to Hawai'i from Belgium in 1864 with high hopes: He would serve in his ill brother's stead. He would become a priest. And he'd minister to the lepers.

As grand as his dreams were when he took the name Father Damien a few months later, there was nothing to indicate he would leave a legacy wider than the Islands themselves:

• He's inspired paintings, poetry, songs (including a new one by Isle crooner Glenn Medeiros) and sculpture — including the famous bronze one fronting the state Capitol and one in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. At least five English-language TV or movie productions join a well-regarded one-man stage show, written by Aldyth Morris, that starred actor Terrence Knapp. And library shelves are full of Damien books by such luminaries as Gavan Daws.

• Rose Brito of Moloka'i has attended St. Sophia Church (which will become St. Damien's upon his canonization as a saint) since 1945. "Moloka'i was always a very special, spiritual island. His work has added to the mana that exists," she said. The remnants of the four churches Damien built on Moloka'i above Kalaupapa remind her of how he served others. Two of the four remain, the renovated Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, still used every Sunday, and the tiny St. Joseph's, "basically as intact as Damien built it." Moloka'i residents are bracing for what sainthood will mean for them, and how to deal with the influx of humanity, but on the whole, "I think everybody's very positive, very proud he's going to become a saint. It's a big plus for the island."

• As a young girl, Irene Letoto remembers spending Damien Day at the civic auditorium, singing the Mass of the Angels. The idea that he'd be canonized in her lifetime? Crazy. "I never thought it would happen," said the former director of the Damien Museum. "Things move slowly in the church."

• Michael Weaver, Damien High principal and 1970 grad, remembers praying fervently to Damien when his son was 4 and diagnosed with leukemia. His son is now in his late 20s. "Maybe they wouldn't classify it officially as a miracle, but I'm convinced Father Damien was involved," he said. He also holds up Damien as a social justice role model — "he stood up for people no one else stood up for" — and the epitome of a modern man. The school has a papier-mache version of the block sculpture in their cafeteria. A few years ago a finger broke off, spurring more jokes than Weaver cares to count.

• There's no doubt in Carmen Himenes' mind that if it weren't for Damien, she wouldn't be alive today. The superintendent of Catholic schools in Hawai'i discovered she had breast cancer the year of his beatification. "He was like a beacon." She prayed a novena to Damien to support her, "because he'd done that job so well supporting others." Even weakened by chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant, she and her mother went to Belgium against her doctor's advice. "Mom said, 'We have Damien with us.' " They were able to take part in the events, while back home, schoolchildren were praying to Damien to intercede on her behalf. It worked. She calls herself a living poster child to the power of Damien's intercession, and to prayer.