Five new saints

Pope Benedict canonised five new saints yesterday, including a 19th-century priest who worked with leprosy patients in Hawaii.

Belgium-born Jozef De Veuster, more commonly known as Father Damien, died from leprosy in 1889. Another new saint is Zygmunt Szcezesny Felinski, a 19th-century Polish bishop who defended the Catholic faith during the years of the Russian annexation, which had led to the shutdown of Polish churches.

Two Spaniards were honoured - Francisco Coll y Guitart, who founded an order of Dominicans in the 19th century, and Rafael Arniaz Baron, who renounced an affluent lifestyle at 22 to live a humble life in a strict monastery and dedicate himself to prayer.

The fifth new saint is Jeanne Jugan, a Frenchwoman who helped found the Little Sisters of the Poor, which today runs homes for indigent elderly worldwide.