Blessed Petrus Donders

I was born in 1807 in the Netherlands. I grew in a poor family, worked at home and in a local textile factory with my brother. I dreamed of becoming a priest. I entered the minor seminary at the age of 22 and had to work for my admission. After four years, I applied to the Franciscans, Jesuits and Redemptorists, but I was turned down by each of it. Thus, I entered into the local seminary and was ordained a priest in 1841. Soon, I went to the Dutch colony of Surinam to serve as a secular priest in Paramaribo. I baptised about 1200 people in the first two years. Among others, I defended the slaves working on the plantations. Later, I was sent as a priest to the leper colony at Batavia. After the arrival of the Redemptorists in Surinam, in 1866, I was accepted in this order. I travelled through the jungle to proclaim the Gospel to Indians and the descendants of African slaves. In 1885, I returned permanently to the leper colony in Batavia. I died in 1887, but not from leprosy.