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Five new saints were canonized by Pope Benedict XVI last Sunday, including a 19th century priest whose work with leprosy patients in a Hawaiian island has been hailed by U.S. President Barack Obama as inspiring those helping AIDS sufferers in today’s world.

Father Damien, who himself died of leprosy in 1889 after contracting the disease while working with leprosy patients who were living in isolation on Molokai island, was among those who were elevated to sainthood.

A 19th century Polish bishop was also canonized. Zygmunt Szcezesny Felinkski defended the Catholic faith during the years of the Russian annexation, which had led to the shutdown of Polish churches.

Next on the list of new saints were two Spaniards. Francisco  Coll y Guitart, who founded an order of Dominicans in the 19th century and Rafael Arniaz Baron, who renounced an affluent lifestyle at the age of 22 to live a humble life in a strict monastery and dedicate himself to prayer.

Jeanne Jugan, a Frenchwoman, is the fifth new saint. She was described by Vatican Radio as an “authentic Mother Teresa ahead of her time.” She was a nun who helped founded the Little Sisters of the Poor, which today runs homes for indigent elderly worldwide. She died in 1879.

The Pope said the newly canonized had given of themselves totally without “calculation or personal gain.”

“Their perfection, in the logic of a faith is humanly incomprehensible at times, consists in no longer placing themselves at the center, but choosing to go against the flow and live according to the Gospel,” the Pope said in his homily.

After the ceremony, he went out on the basilica’s central balcony to greet some 40,000 faithful in the square. Speaking in French, he urged people to pray and help those involved in the battle against leprosy and “other forms of leprosy caused by lack of love or cowardliness.”