Bienheureux Pierre Donders
Religieux rédemptoriste au Surinam (+ 1887)
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/5193/Bienheureux-Pierre-Donders.html
BIENHEUREUX PIERRE DONDERS (1809-1887) Pierre Donders
naît à Tilbourg en Hollande le 27 octobre 1809. Il était démuni et laborieux
quand il commença à 22 ans, ses études théologiques. Il fut ordonné prêtre à 32
ans, pour la mission du Surinam ou Guyane hollandaise. Après 14 ans de travail
pastoral auprès des esclaves de plantations, il se rendra dans la léproserie de
Batavia. Quand les Rédemptoristes prennent la direction du Vicariat apostolique
du Surinam, il devient Rédemptoriste, à 58 ans. De 1867 à 1883, il travaille
auprès des lépreux.
Le témoignage de vie exemplaire de l’apôtre des
lépreux s’inscrit également dans une sorte de tournant de l’orientation
pastorale des Rédemptoristes qui s’ouvrent largement aux missions étrangères.
C’est là que le Père Donders sera rejoint par l’esprit de saint Alphonse et
qu’il donnera la plénitude de son dévouement et de son zèle pour le Christ
Rédempteur.
À la fin de sa vie, il revient à Batavia en 1885, pour
mourir auprès de ses chers lépreux
SOURCE : http://redemptoristes.ca/st-redemptoristes.html
Tilburg, statue of Petrus Donders made around 1926 by J.P. Maas en Zonen (Haarlem)
Bienheureux Pierre DONDERS
Nom: DONDERS
Prénom: Pierre (Petrus)
Nom de religion: Pierre (Petrus)
Pays: Hollande - Surinam
Naissance: 27.10.1805 à Tilburg
Mort: 14.01.1887 à Batavia
Etat: Prêtre - Rédemptoriste
Note: Apôtre des lépreux. A passé la plus grande
partie de sa vie au Surinam où il annonça l'Evangile aux esclaves, aux Noirs et
aux Indiens. Entré à un âge avancé dans la Congrégation de Très Saint
Rédempteur.
Béatification: 23.05.1982 à
Rome par Jean Paul II
Canonisation:
Fête: 14 janvier
Réf. dans l’Osservatore Romano: 1982 n.20 - n.22
Réf. dans la Documentation Catholique: 1982 p.607
_Peerke_Donders_-_Gemeentelijk_Museum_Melle_23-3-2017_11-27-38.JPG)
Jules Vits (1868-1935) Peerke Donders - Gemeentelijk Museum
PIERRE DONDERS
Rédemptoriste, Bienheureux
(1809-1887)
Pierre Donders est né à Tilburg, en Hollande, le 27
octobre 1809, de Arnold Denis Donders et de Petronella van den Brekel. Comme la
famille était pauvre, les deux fils ne purent bénéficier que d'une faible
scolarité et furent contraints de supporter leur famille. Dès son jeune âge,
cependant, Pierre avait exprimé le désir de devenir prêtre. Et voilà qu'avec
l'aide du clergé de sa paroisse, à l'âge de vingt-deux ans, il fut capable
d'entreprendre ses études au petit séminaire. Une fois complété le temps de sa
formation, il fut ordonné prêtre le 5 juin 1841.
Pendant qu'il poursuivait ses études théologiques, il fut orienté par ses supérieurs vers les missions hollandaises de la colonie du Surinam. Il arriva à Paramaribo, la métropole de la colonie, le 16 septembre 1842 et se consacra immédiatement aux travaux apostoliques qui devaient l'occuper jusqu'à sa mort. Ses premières fonctions consistaient en des visites régulières dans les plantations, étalées le long des rivières de la colonie; il y prêchait et administrait les sacrements, surtout auprès des esclaves. Ses lettres font état de son indignation contre le traitement cruel qu'on faisait subir aux peuples africains, forcés de travailler dans les plantations.
En 1856, il fut envoyé à la léproserie de Batavia. Cet apostolat devait s'avérer, sauf en de brèves interruptions, le théâtre de ses travaux pour le reste de sa vie. Sa charité ne le poussa pas seulement à offrir les bienfaits de la religion aux patients, mais il s'impliqua aussi personnellement jusqu'à ce qu'il fût capable de persuader les autorités de donner des services médicaux appropriés. Grâce à toutes sortes d'industries, il réussit à améliorer les conditions des lépreux, en déployant son énergie à présenter leurs besoins à l'attention des autorités coloniales. Quand les Rédemptoristes arrivèrent, en 1866, pour prendre en charge la mission du Surinam, le père Donders et un de ses compagnons prêtre demandèrent à être admis dans la Congrégation.
Les deux candidats firent leur noviciat sous la direction du Vicaire Apostolique, Monseigneur Johan Baptiste Winkels, et prononcèrent leurs vœux le 24 juin 1867. Le père Donders retourna immédiatement à Batavia. Grâce à l'assistance dont il disposait désormais auprès des lépreux, il put consacrer son temps au travail qu'il avait longtemps désiré entreprendre. Comme rédemptoriste, il pouvait désormais tourner son attention vers les Indiens du Surinam. Il poursuivit ce travail, qui avait été négligé auparavant faute de personnel, jusqu'à sa mort. Il se mit à apprendre les langues autochtones et instruisit les Indiens dans la foi chrétienne, jusqu'à ce que ses forces défaillantes l'obligent à confier à d'autres ce qu'il avait commencé.
En 1883, le Vicaire Apostolique, désirant le soulager
des lourds fardeaux dont il était accablé depuis si longtemps, le transféra à
Paramaribo et plus tard, à Coronie. Il retourna toutefois à Batavia en novembre
1885. Il reprit ses occupations antérieures jusqu'à ce que sa santé déclinante
l'obligeât finalement à se mettre au lit, en décembre 1886. Il languit ainsi
pendant deux semaines jusqu'à sa mort, le 14 janvier 1887. Comme sa renommée de
sainteté se répandait au-delà du Surinam et jusque dans sa Hollande natale, sa
cause fut introduite à Rome. Il fut béatifié par le pape Jean-Paul II le 23 mai
1982.
SOURCE : http://www.cssr.com/francais/saintsblessed/donders.shtml et http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/pierre_donders.htm
Museum voor Naastenliefde, gerealiseerd in 2009, Peerke Donders Paviljoen, Tilburg
Bienheureux Pierre Donders
Prêtre Rédemptoriste
Pierre Donders naquit en 1809 à Tilburg (Pays-Bas)
dans une modeste famille de tisserands.
Tout jeune, Pierre désirait déjà devenir Prêtre.
Sa famille ne pouvant assurer les frais de telles études, c'est le curé du village qui l'instruisit et, à l'âge de 22 ans, Pierre rejoignit le petit séminaire à l'étonnement de tous.
En 1839, il entra au grand séminaire de Haaren où il fera la rencontre de Mgr Grooff, vicaire apostolique du Surinam.
Pierre fut ordonné Prêtre en 1841 et, nommé missionnaire apostolique, il partit aussitôt au Surinam en Amérique du Sud.
Il s'occupa d'abord des esclaves des plantations. Peu
après, Mgr Grooff l'emmena avec lui à la léproserie gouvernementale de Batavia,
au milieu de la forêt. Pierre fut bouleversé par la vision de ces malades
délaissés de tous :
« Une émotion profonde, m'étreignait le cœur à la
vue de cette assemblée. Certains malades avaient perdu les doigts des pieds,
d'autres ceux des mains ; d'autres encore avaient les jambes terriblement
enflées.
Quelques-uns, atteints à la langue, ne pouvaient plus parler ; tous pouvaient à peine marcher ». À partir de 1856, cette léproserie sera le lieu de sa mission principale.
En 1866, les Rédemptoristes arrivèrent au Surinam afin de prendre en charge la mission, et Pierre Donders demanda à être admis dans la Congrégation.
Il continua à s'occuper avec un dévouement extrême des
lépreux, aussi bien matériellement que religieusement, mais il partit aussi
évangéliser les Indiens de la tribu des Caribes, population encore sauvage et
cannibale.
Il apprit les langues indigènes et instruisit les autochtones dans la Foi Chrétienne. Il fut l'apôtre intrépide et infatigable des indiens et par-dessus tout des lépreux.
Pierre naquit au Ciel le 14 Janvier 1887.
Blessed Petrus Donders
Also
known as
- Peter
Donders
- Peerke
Donders
Profile
Son of Arnold Denis
Donders and Petronella van den Brekel. Peter grew up poor, rarely getting
to school, working at home and in
a local factory with his brother Martin, and dreaming of becoming a priest. With the help of
local priests and a wealthy
patron, he enter the seminary at the College of Herlaar at age
twenty-two, initially working as a servant while he studied. At age twenty-six her
applied to the Franciscans, Jesuits and Redemptorists, but was turned down by
each. Ordained on 5 June 1841 after nearly ten
years of work.
Missionary to the Dutch
colony in Surinam, Dutch Guiana, arriving in Paramaribo on 16 September 1842. Evangelized and ministered to
plantation slaves, constantly in touch
with his superiors to complain of the terrible treatment of the workers.
He baptized at least 1200 in
his first couple of years, and worked among the sick during an epidemic
in 1851. Transferred to
the leper colony of Batavia
in 1856. There he ministered to
both the body and soul of the 600 or so patients. His constant harassment of
the colonial authorities resulted in much better care for the patients.
When the Redemptorists arrived in Surinam
in 1866 to take charge of
the mission, Peter joined the Order, becoming a 57 year old novice in 1866, and making his final
vows on 24 June 1867. He then returned to
Batavia with a crew of Redemptorists ready to help
the lepers. With the added
help, Father Peter expanded his
work, and began to evangelize the Indians in the
region. He learned their languages and had made a good start on the work when
his health failed. His superiors
transferred him to easier assignments, but as the end approached, Peter
returned to Batavia where he worked with the patients until his end.
Born
- 27 October 1805 at Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands
- 14 January 1887 at Batavia, Saramacca, Surinam of natural
causes
- buried there
- 25 March 1945 by Pope Pius XII (decree of heroic virtues)
- 23 May 1982 by Pope John Paul II
- on 11 April 1978, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
declared miraculous the cure of Louis John Westland from
osteomyelitis by Blessed Peter’s intercession
Additional Information
- Catholic Encyclopedia, by J Matnier
- The Holiness of
the Church in the 19th Century
- books
- Book of Saints, by
the Monks of Ramsgate
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
- other
sites in english
- video
- sitios
en español
- Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
- fonti
in italiano
- websites
in nederlandse
- nettsteder
i norsk
Readings
We can say that he was
an apostle of the poor. In fact, he was born
into a poor family and had to lead the life of a worker before he could pursue
his priestly vocation. He dedicated his whole priestly life of the poor. In
addition, he is an invitation and an incentive for the renewal and
reflourishing of the missionary thrust which in the last century and in this
one has made an exceptional contribution to carrying out of the Church’s
missionary duty. Joining the Congregation of the
Most Holy Redeemer late in life, he practiced in an excellent way
what Saint Alphonsus proposed as an ideal for his religious: imitate the
virtues and examples of the Redeemer in preaching the divine word to the
poor. – Pope John Paul II in the beatification homily for Blessed Peter
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Petrus
Donders“. CatholicSaints.Info. 17 August 2020. Web. 13
January 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-petrus-donders/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-petrus-donders/
Bidprentje Petrus Donders in zijn sterfjaar 1887, Regionaal Archief Tilburg
Peter Donders
Missionary among the lepers,
b. at Tilburg in Holland,
27 Oct., 1807; d. 14 Jan., 1887. He desired from his early childhood to be
a priest,
but he had to begin life as a worker in a factory. He afterwards became a
servant in a college where
he learned a little and made great progress in virtue.
Later a benefactor enabled him to pursue his theological studies
in the College of Herlaar. A chance reading of the "Annals of the
Propagation of the Faith" determined his vocation for foreign missions. He
was accepted in 1839 for Dutch Guiana
as a missionary, ordained priest the
following year, and in 1842 arrived at Paramaribo to begin his long apostolic
career. He laboured with success among the blacks in the plantations, and by
1850 had instructed and baptized 1200.
In the epidemic of 1851 his labours were superhuman, till, like his
fellow-priests, he too became a victim. Before he was convalescent he not only
resumed his work among the blacks, but extended it to the Indians of Saramaca.
In 1855 he took up his residence in Batavia where for nearly thirty-two years
he ministered to 600 lepers.
He left them only to visit the blacks and Indians. In 1865 the whole colony was
confided to the Redemptorist
Fathers by the Holy
See and the King of Holland.
Father Donders at once asked to be of their number and was received in
Paramaribo, in 1867, by Monsignor Swinkels, the first Redemptorist vicar
Apostolic. After this he went back to his charge. He studied music to cheer
his afflicted children, and though given an assistant he laboured to the end.
The process for his beatification has
been placed before the Congregation of Sacred Rites.
Magnier, John. "Peter
Donders." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 13 Jan.
2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05129b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for
New Advent by Gerald M. Knight.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil
Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M.
Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05129b.htm
The
Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth Century – Peter Donders
Dutch Guiana, with its
tropic heats, its fever-laden air, its mosquito plague, and its varied and
unsympathetic population has little attraction for civilized men. We must,
therefore, the more admire the fortitude of the missionary who without any
consideration of earthly reward but for love of the souls of this ill-sorted
people alone voluntarily chose this inhospitable land as his adopted country.
It needed the strength and courage of a saint to cultivate this vineyard for
forty-five years with such unflagging zeal, such never-halting energy and
constant cheerfulness as did the Dutch Redemptorist Peter Donders. The Church
will reward him by numbering him in the ranks of the blessed.
Peter Donders, born 27
October 1809, at Tilburg in North Brabant, was obliged to spend his boyhood in
privation and self-denial. From his very early years his heart was drawn toward
the priesthood. But three considerable obstacles stood in the way; viz., his
parents were very poor, he had poor health, and possessed but little talent. So
much the greater, therefore, were Peter’s piety, his purity of morals, and his
confidence in God. To help his parents he learned the weaver’s trade. When he
was twenty-two he was received into the boys’ seminary at Saint Michiels-Gastel
as a servant, with permission to avail himself of whatever instruction he could
get. It was no small humiliation for a student who was so much older than his
fellows to be almost last in everything; but his strong will and his confidence
in prayer won him the victory over all difficulties. Twice he asked admission
into a religious body and was each time refused. After six years he was
admitted into the priests’ seminary.
Some years after his
ordination to the priesthood his desire to work as a missionary in foreign
lands was gratified. On 2 September 1842, he landed at Paramaribo, capital of
Dutch Guiana, which mission was then in the care of Dutch secular priests.
Great patience and self-sacrifice was required to protect the 4000 Catholics
scattered throughout the colony from the dangers which threatened their faith
and morals in consequence of their heathen environment and the enervating
climate. Donders paid special attention to the young, rightly foreseeing that
it is easier to protect them from vice than to reclaim them when once in its
power. When yellow fever raged at Paramaribo in 1851, he won the admiration of
the whole colony by his heroism, in caring for both the spiritual and the
corporal welfare of the sick, nearly falling a victim of his vocation.
Batavia, a remote place
in the colony, had been set apart by the government for the residence of
lepers. In 1856 Donders undertook the pastoral care of this difficult post, and
persevered here for thirty years, shirking no sacrifice to be all things to his
poor flock and to win all to Christ. When the mission of Dutch Guiana was
adopted by the Redemptorists in 1865, Donders asked to be received into the
Congregation. What was denied to the young petitioner thirty years before was
gladly granted to the deserving and saintly missionary. After a year of
noviceship at Paramaribo he took up again his post at Batavia.
“There was never a
prince, perhaps,” we read in a sketch of his life, “who, crowned with fame and
splendid success, entered his capital in triumph after his victories and found
so great an overflow of joy and happiness as did Donders when, surrounded by
his beloved lepers, he again directed his steps to his poor little church.”
He went forth to his work
with renewed courage and energy. At last, seventy-seven years of age, he laid
down his arms to receive, on 6 January 1887, the reward of his holy and
mortified life.
– this text is taken
from The Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth
Century: Saintly Men and Women of Our Own Times, by Father
Constantine Kempf, SJ; translated from the German by Father Francis Breymann,
SJ; Impimatur by + Cardinal John Farley, Archbishop of New York, 25 September
1916
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-holiness-of-the-church-in-the-nineteenth-century-peter-donders/
Blessed Peter Donders: Prophet of Justice and
Liberation
9 Jan, 2019 in Latest News tagged Peter Donders / Redemptorist / redemptorists / Solidarity / Suriname / vocation by admin
January 1, 2019
During this month of January, we celebrate the feast
of Blessed Peter Donders on the 14th. Peter Donders was proclaimed Blessed by
John Paul II on May 23, 1982. As we can imagine, there are a lot of
technical elements in the process of canonization. Besides the approved
miracles, one important element in the process of canonization is that of
popular devotion to the person. I believe that this agenda of promoting
popular devotion is one that all of us as the Redemptorist family should
undertake, not only to promote one of our own but also because of the valuable
contribution and inspiration that Peter Donders´ life offers to society and to
the Church.
As I read the
volume of Redemptorist Spirituality (# 9, in Spanish) on Peter
Donders, it struck me that a dimension that we can use, and also alluded to by
the coordinator of this volume, Father, now Bishop, Noel Londoño, C.Ss.R., is
the Christian call from baptism to be prophets in the midst of human realities.
Over the course of the decades and centuries after the
European contact, Latin America underwent sweeping cultural and political
changes that would lead to the independence movements of the 19th century and
the social upheavals of the 20th century.
Peter Donders was born in 1809, the beginning of the
19th century. He arrived as a missionary to the Dutch colony of
Suriname in 1842 and brought with him the current political, social, moral and
ecclesial thought of the times in Europe, in which justice and liberation were
certainly central themes.
Popularly, we usually limit our references to Peter
Donders as an apostle to lepers, which is justified seeing that he labored for
28 years, with some interruptions, in the place, Batavia, created specifically
to receive the lepers in the region. He died among the lepers on January
14, 1887.
But Peter Donders was also in contact with diverse
human groups of persons exploited and enslaved, among them about 40,000 slaves
concentrated in 400 colonial establishments. In his efforts of
evangelization, he was frequently confronted with resistance on the part of the
“Christian” colonizers who resisted his entering the plantations, even to
administer the sacraments. In a matter of fact, before his death (1887),
in 1863 slavery in Suriname was abolished.
Peter Donders also dedicated himself to the
evangelization of the indigenous populations which were markedly affected by
alcohol and other sicknesses, for example, smallpox, imported by the
Europeans. These peoples were the Araucas, Warros and Guarní tribes.
As with other evangelizers, Peter Donders encountered innumerable difficulties
with the Caribs, also known as the “southern red skins.” It is
interesting that the Apostolic Vicar in his visit to Suriname during the time
of Peter Donders commented that at that time the majority of the indigenous
population of Suriname were Catholics due to the tireless and pioneer work of
Peter Donders, the “Apostle of the Indigenous People.”
What these historical missionary and ministerial facts
point out is the importance of human liberation and justice in the work of
evangelization. Peter Donders was often the spokesperson for the
Redemptorist community in favor of all those who were being exploited, enslaved
and marginalized. These included, besides the abandoned and marginalized
lepers, the native Indians, and the slaves.
It seems to me that a strong promotional focus for
devotion and recognition of Peter Donders is to place him among the figures in
the historical movements of justice and liberation in Latin America, that is,
as a pioneer alongside the list of prophetic canonized figures that culminate
in the 20th century with Bishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero (canonized on October
15th, 2018).
An example of
Peter Donders’ prophetic voice is his letters, which the coordinator of the
volume of Redemptorist Spirituality dedicated to Donders, indicates
can be placed among the anthologies of the prophetic testimonies of the Church
in Latin America. In his letters, Peter Donders reflects the
following traditional prophetic elements: a prophetic vision of the reality of
Suriname, the denouncement of those responsible, prophetic reaction to these
injustices, the hope of liberation and the impossibility of an authentic
evangelization without this previous liberation.
To cite just one example of this is a letter written
in 1846 in defense of the slaves. After mentioning if there were at least
as much care in Suriname for the oppressed and exploited as in Europe for
domestic animals, things would be a lot better, Peter Donders writes, and I
quote:
“Woe! Woe to Suriname on the great day of judgment!
Woe! Woe! Yes, a thousand times woe! of the Europeans, of the owners of the
slaves in the plantations, of the administrators, of the directors and the
guards (of all those who rule over the slaves)!!! Woe to those who become rich
from the sweat and blood of the poor slaves, who have no more defenders than
God!”
These were strong words in his day as they would be for
today.
May Peter Donders be our inspiration so that we be
filled with his prophetic spirit and break the barriers of fear and anxiety
that keep us from living the prophetic dimension to which our charism calls us
as followers of the Redeemer.
Manuel Rodríguez Delgado, C.Ss.R.
(Source (08/01/2019): http://www.cssr.news/2019/01/image-of-blessed-peter-donders/)
SOURCE : https://www.africaredemptorists.com/news/blessed-peter-donders-prophet-of-justice-and-liberation/
Kapel en tentoonstellingsruimte te Batavia, gerealiseerd in 2001, Batavia, Suriname
Happy Feast Day to Blessed Peter Donders, Dutch
Redemptorist
January
14, 2020 Father
Charles Wehrley Blessed
Peter Donders, News, North
American Conference, Redemptorist
Saints, Redemptorists
Worldwide
Today Redemptorists around the world celebrate the
Feast of Blessed Peter Donders, C.Ss.R.
Blessed Petrus Norbert Donders (October
27,1809–January 14, 1887) was a Dutch Roman Catholic priest and a professed
member from the Redemptorists. He served in the missions in Suriname where he
tended to the native inhabitants and the lepers; he worked in both Paramaribo
and Batavia where he died.
Donders’ poverty during his youth saw him unable to
begin his studies for the priesthood. Later generous benefactors helped to
enable him to complete his studies. Right after ordination he was sent to
Suriname to tend to the natives there and he was never to return to his native
land.
Donders was beatified in mid-1982 in Saint Peter’s
Square by Pope John Paull II. The miracle that led to that was the cure of a
Dutch child from bone cancer back in 1929.
Donders was born in Tilburg in the Netherlands on
October 27, 1809 as the eldest of two children to Arnold Denis and Petronella
van den Brekel Donders; he had a younger brother named Martin. In Tilburger he
was known as Peerke Donders; he taught catechism to his fellow children during
his spare time.
He desired from childhood to become a priest but could
not afford to attend school for very long. He worked in the warehouse with his
little brother Martin. He afterwards became a servant among seminarians at
their institute known as the Beekvliet in Saint Michiels Gestel where he was
given some education.
In 1831, he was deemed unfit for military service. In
1833, he applied to join the Redemptorists but was denied; he met the same
results from the Jesuits and Franciscans. Later a benefactor enabled him to
pursue his theological studies at the College of Haaren which he entered
on October 4, 1837.
A chance reading of the “Annals of the Propagation of
the Faith” – a journal of reports from various missions – established his
interest in the foreign missions. In 1839, impressed with Donders’ zeal and
passion, Bishop Jacobus Grooff accepted him for the then Dutch Suriname (now
the Republic of Suriname).
Donders was ordained to the priesthood on June 5,
1841. On August 1, 1842 he traveled to Paramaribo to begin his long apostolic
career and he arrived there on September 16, 1842. He labored with success
among the African blacks in the plantations and by 1850 had instructed and
baptized 1200 people. His letters express his indignation at the harsh
treatment of the African peoples forced to work on the plantations.
He extended his work to the Indians at Saramacca and
in 1851 tended to the sick during an epidemic. In 1856 he took up his residence
in Batavia where for almost three decades he tended to 600 lepers until he was
able to persuade the authorities to provide adequate nursing services.
In 1865, the colony was assigned to the Redemptorists
by the Holy See. Donders asked to join their order and was received at
Paramaribo in 1866 by Monsignor Johannes Baptist Swinkels, the first
Redemptorist vicar Apostolic. He was vested in the habit on November 1, 1886,
and made his final vows on June 24, 1867. Following this he returned to his
charges and studied music to cheer the afflicted children.
He had been given an assistant but labored through all
his work until his death from nephritis on January 14, 1887. His superiors
noted his frail constitution and moved him to easier assignments, though
Donders moved back to Batavia when he sensed his end was near to be with his
patients.
He was buried in Batavia but was relocated on July 28,
1900 to Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral at Paramaribo which was consecrated in
1885 before his death. His remains were reinterred in the same cathedral in a
new location on January 17, 1921. Donders’ birth house in Tilburg was
reconstructed in 1930 on the old foundations and a well is also there.
Let us pray:
(Information courtesy of Wikipedia)
About Father Charles Wehrley 664 Articles
Fr. Charlie Wehrley, C.Ss.R. is Communications
Director for the Redemptorist Conference of North America. He has previously
been a Retreat Director at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Tucson, AZ; an
Assistant Press Secretary to the Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky; and Press and
Public Information Officer for the Kentucky Court of Justice (AOC).
SOURCE : https://www.redemptorists.com/happy-feast-day-to-blessed-peter-donders-dutch-redemptorist/
Tomb of Peerke Donders in the Saint Peter and Paul
Cathedral in Paramaribo. Surinam
St Petrus en Pauluskathedraal, Paramaribo, Suriname.
Graf van Peerke Donders.
Beato Pietro Donders Sacerdote
redentorista
Tilburg, Olanda, 27 ottobre 1809 -
Batavia, Guyana Olandese, 14 gennaio 1887
Figlio di un tessitore di lana, a 32 anni venne ordinato sacerdote. Nel 1842
lasciò l’Olanda per raggiungere la Guyana olandese o Surinam, per lavorare poi
tutta la vita nell’attività apostolica a favore degli ultimi, compresi i
lebbrosi. Nel 1865 il Vicariato Apostolico della Guyana Olandese fu affidato
alla Congregazione dei Redentoristi e padre Donders chiese di venirne ammesso e
il 27 giugno 1867 emise i voti perpetui, ritornando poi tra i suoi amati
lebbrosi con cui già lavorava instancabilmente dal 1856. La sua vita interiore
era intessuta dalla preghiera e dalla penitenza, interrompeva spesso il sonno
notturno per dedicare un’ora alla preghiera in ginocchio davanti al
tabernacolo; dormiva su un asse di legno e usava la “disciplina” almeno una
volta al giorno. La sua meravigliosa carità verso il prossimo gli procurò già
in vita la fama di santità. Dopo quasi 45 anni vissuti sotto il sole tropicale,
morì a Batavia nella colonia dei lebbrosi il 14 gennaio 1887; la sua tomba si
trova attualmente nella cattedrale di Paramaribo. È stato beatificato da San Giovanni Paolo II il
23 maggio 1982.
Martirologio Romano: A Batavia nel Suriname, beato Pietro Donders,
sacerdote della Congregazione del Santissimo Redentore, che con carità
instancabile si prese cura dei corpi e delle anime dei lebbrosi.
Fonte : Lettera mensile dell'abbazia Saint-Joseph, F. 21150
Flavigny- Francia - www.clairval.com
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/91264.html
Den salige Peter Donders
(1809-1887)
Minnedag:
14. januar
På grunn av familiens
fattigdom måtte Peter og broren Martin forlate skolen i tolvårsalderen og
arbeide for å hjelpe til med å forsørge familien. Peter lærte farens håndverk
og arbeidet på en fabrikk, men han hadde allerede et sterkt ønske om å bli
prest, selv om dette syntes som en fjern mulighet. Imidlertid hjalp prestene i
sognet ham med høsten 1832 å komme inn på gutteseminaret i Sint Michiels-Gestel
som tjener, med tillatelse til å studere i fritiden. Med hjelp fra en velgjører
ble han til slutt i stand til å begynne på presteseminaret. Etter råd fra sine
overordnede søkte han da opptak hos jesuittene, redemptoristene og
fransiskanerne, men han ble avvist av alle tre.
Den 4. oktober 1837
begynte han på presteseminaret i Herlaar og den 16. juli 1839 begynte han på
det nye presteseminaret i Haaren. Han ble presteviet den 5. juni 1841 i
Oogstgeest, 31 år gammel. Han var da allerede utnevnt til utenlandsmisjonen i
den nederlandske kolonien Nederlandsk Guyana (nå Surinam) i Sør-Amerika, som
hadde vært nederlandsk siden 1667. I 1842 reiste han dit og gikk i land i
hovedstaden Paramaribo.
Han skulle komme til å
tilbringe resten av sitt liv i Surinam, først fra 1842 til 1866 som
sekularprest og deretter fra 1866 til sin død i 1887 som redemptoristprest.
Hans første fjorten år i landet var viet til sognearbeid i Paramaribo, tjeneste
for den innfødte befolkningen, besøke de syke, undervise barn og voksne i
katekesen, og enda fant han tid til å besøke plantasjene for å evangelisere for
de svarte slavene der og prøve å forbedre deres usle forhold. Innen 1850 hadde
han undervist og døpt 1.200 personer. I epidemien i 1851 gjorde han en nesten
umenneskelig innsats inntil han ble smittet i likhet med sine prestekolleger.
Allerede før han var frisk hadde han ikke bare gjenopptatt sitt arbeid blant de
svarte, men også utvidet det til indianerne i Saramaca. I 1856 meldte Peter seg
frivillig til å reise til leprakolonien Batavia, hvor han tjenestegjorde for
600 spedalske.
I 1865 ble vikariatet
Surinam betrodd til redemptoristene (Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris -
CSSR), som den hellige Alfons Liguori hadde
grunnlagt i 1732. Året ble Peter og p. Johannes Romme akseptert som noviser, og
de avla sine løfter den 27. juni 1867 til biskop Johan Baptist Swinkels, den
første apostoliske vikar fra redemptoristene. Kort etter var Peter tilbake hos
sine elskede spedalske, denne gangen sammen med en annen prest for å hjelpe
ham. Han studerte musikk for å muntre opp de spedalske barna.
Nå da han ikke lenger var
alene, var han i stand til å vie mer tid til sin andre ambisjon, nemlig å
bringe Kristus til indianerne i stammene Caribi, Aruachi og Warros og rømte
negerslaver i skogene. Dette arbeidet medførte lange, slitsomme og ofte farlige
reiser med bare magre resultater når det gjaldt konversjoner, spesielt blant
Caribi-indianerne. Størst suksess hadde han blant stammen Aruachi. Med absolutt
tillit til Gud og Jomfru Maria utførte
Peter sitt arbeid for de spedalske og indianerne i det meste av den tiden han
hadde igjen, bortsett fra perioden 1883-85, da han arbeidet i Coronie ved
kysten.
Etter en kort pause var
han tilbake i Batavia i november 1885. Men hans siste opphold skulle bli kort,
for den 14. januar 1887 sovnet han stille inn i Batavia i Surinam, 77 år
gammel. Han ble gravlagt i leprakolonien. Etter hans død spredte hans
berømmelse seg, spesielt innen hans egen kongregasjon, selvsagt i Surinam og i
Nederland. Dermed ble hans saligkåringsprosess innledet i Roma i 1913. Pave
Pius XII (1939-58) erklærte hans «heroiske dyder» i 1945, noe som ga ham
tittelen Venerabilis («Ærverdig»).
Den 11. april 1978
godkjente Helligkåringskongregasjonen et mirakel på hans forbønn, da den to år
gamle gutten Louis John Westland ble fullstendig helbredet for beinkreft. Han
ble saligkåret den 23. mai 1982 av pave Johannes Paul II. Hans minnedag er
dødsdagen 14. januar. Han kalles «de fattiges apostel». Hans helligkåringssak
ser ut til å ha blitt stanset av ukjente årsaker. Hans jordiske rester hviler
nå i katedralen i Paramaribo.
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (I), Schauber/Schindler, Holböck (1), Resch (B1), Index99,
CE, Patron Saints SQPN, Infocatho, redemptorists.net, praiseofglory.com,
catholicmission.org - Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Sist oppdatert: 2004-02-03 22:56
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/pdonders
Onder: Jonge
kerk
Peerke (ook Petrus) Donders CssR,
'Batavia' Paramaribo, Suriname; missionaris; † 1887.
Feest 14 januari.
Peerke Donders werd te
Heikant, een buurtschap nabij Tilburg, geboren op 27 oktober 1809 uit zo'n
gezin waar ze de ene klap na de andere te verduren krijgen: ze waren straatarm,
vader verloor in korte tijd drie keer zijn vrouw, onder wie de moeder van
Peerke, en bovendien stierven een paar kinderen een vroegtijdige dood. Voor
Peerke leek de toekomst duidelijk: meehelpen om aan de kost te komen. Hij werd
thuiswever. Maar hij wilde graag priester worden. Het schijnt, dat zijn
biechtvader hem heeft gezegd: 'Jij moet je vader helpen: dat is jóúw
priesterschap.' Toch bleef het priesterschap hem trekken. In een brief aan zijn
pastoor zette hij nog eens uiteen waarom hij zo graag wilde; hij was eerlijk
genoeg ook de bezwaren ertegen te vermelden. De pastoor oordeelde positief.
Peerke mocht het proberen. Hij was toen 22 jaar.
Hij ging naar het seminarie van Sint-Michielsgestel, waar hij huisknecht-student werd. Een licht was hij niet. Dat gemis maakte hij goed door zijn gaven van hart. Later verhuisde hij naar Haaren. Op 5 juni 1841 werd hij te Oegstgeest priester gewijd. Kort daarna kwam de noodkreet van de bisschop van Suriname hem ter ore: of er edelmoedige priesters waren die hun pastorale zorg wilden wijden aan de Hollandse koloniën die zo geteisterd werden door tropische ziekten. Peerke was de enige die zich aanmeldde.
Op 16 september 1842 arriveerde hij in Paramaribo. Zijn werkterrein werd al gauw het oerwoud: hij werd rivierenpater. Omgeven door muskieten en allerhande ongedierte trok hij naar de nederzettingen van de bosnegers, naar de dorpjes van de negerslaven die door de Hollanders uit Afrika naar Suriname waren gesleept en nu van de plantages waren gevlucht tot diep in de oerwouden; hij besteedde zijn zorgen aan de Indianen, van wie vooral de Arrovacchi toegankelijk waren voor het evangelie. Op zijn oude dag zou hij zichzelf nog leren harmonium spelen om des te gemakkelijker toenadering tot stand te brengen.
Toch is Peerke Donders het beroemdst geworden om zijn werk in de melaatsenkolonie 'Batavia' een eind buiten Paramaribo. Aan deze eenzame, verstoten en vergeten mensen heeft hij de meeste toewijding besteed. Hij verzorgde de walgelijkste ziektegevallen, aanhoorde hun klachten en verhalen, probeerde ze op te beuren, en legde hun uit dat de zonde veel en veel erger is dan de melaatsheid. Het schijnt dat ze hem desondanks een keer verdreven hebben. Maar met gejuich werd hij later weer ingehaald.
In 1865 werd de Surinaamse missie toevertrouwd aan de paters Redemptoristen. Op zijn oude dag trad Peerke dus toe tot deze Congregatie, en legde van harte de drie religieuze geloften af van armoede, kuisheid en gehoorzaamheid. In wezen betekende dit voor hem geen enkele verandering. In feite was hij zijn hele leven al bezig in de geest van die geloften.
Op 14 januari 1887 kwam er een eind aan dit heilige leven. Hem schijnt ooit
gevraagd te zijn of hij nu meer van God hield of van de mensen. Zijn antwoord
herinnerde aan het beroep dat hij ooit geleerd had: 'Je vraagt toch ook niet
aan een wever of de schering belangrijker is dan de inslag?'
Verering & Cultuur
Peerke Donders werd door paus Johannes Paulus II († 2005; feest 22 oktober)
zalig verklaard op 23 mei 1982.
Afgebeeld
Van hem zijn authentieke portretten bewaard: een magere man, aan wie de eenvoud
en hartelijkheid van zijn gezicht zijn af te lezen. In de kathedrale
Sint-Bavokerk te Haarlem wordt hij afgebeeld met een melaatse: terwijl de
rechterhand beschermend rust op de schouder van de zieke, beurt hij hem met de
linker op.
[Onderstaande tekst verscheen in Jonge Kerk van januari 1999]
14 januari 1887: Peerke Donders
In 1842 verliet een schip
de haven van Den Helder met bestemming Paramaribo, Suriname. Aan boord bevond
zich een pasgewijd priester, afkomstig uit Tilburg: Petrus, of zoals ze hem
thuis noemden: Peerke Donders.
Hij had er van jongs af
aan van gedroomd priester te worden. Maar daar was geen kans op. Thuis hadden
ze het arm. Zijn vader was thuiswever. Moeder stierf, toen Peerke zes was.
Vader hertrouwde met een lieve vrouw. Zodra Peerke dat kon, moest hij, zo klein
als hij was, meehelpen om aan de kost te komen. Intussen hield hij hele
gesprekken met God. Buiten tegen het huisje had hij een altaartje nagemaakt van
leem: daar speelde hij voor priestertje. Vanuit de wastobbe van zijn moeder
hield hij preken tot de kinderen uit de buurt. Het schijnt, dat zijn
biechtvader hem heeft gezegd: 'Jij moet je vader helpen: dat is jóúw priesterschap.'
Toch bleef het priesterschap hem trekken. In een brief aan zijn pastoor
vertelde hij waarom hij dat zo graag wilde; hij verzweeg niet, dat hij niet
goed kon leren. Zijn pastoor deed een goed woordje voor hem. Peerke mocht het
proberen. Hij was toen 22 jaar.
Op het seminarie
(priesteropleidingshuis) van Sint-Michielsgestel zeiden ze hem dat de studie
waarschijnlijk te moeilijk voor hem was. Hij moest maar huisknecht worden. De
priesterprofessoren raakten onder de indruk van zijn uitstraling. Zijn gebrek
aan intelligentie werd vergoed door opvallende goedheid. Zo begon hij aan zijn
priesterstudie op een moment dat anderen ze afsloten.
Ook al was hij veel ouder
dan zijn klasgenoten en lang niet zo slim, Peerke hield vol en haalde zijn
examens. Tijdens zijn studie was er een bisschop uit Suriname langsgekomen. Die
had verteld over de erbarmelijke situatie van de negerslaven (de slavernij werd
in de Nederlandse kolonies pas in 1863 officieel afgeschaft), de inlandse
Indianen en de melaatsen. De bisschop was geëindigd met een pathetische oproep
tot de priesterstudenten: "God zal u straks niet vragen of u
resultaat hebt gehad, maar met hoeveel inzet u voor Hem hebt gewerkt. Zeg niet:
Wat heeft Suriname ons nou te bieden? Je hebt daar alleen maar narigheid. Gods
woord verzekert u dat het lijden van deze wereld niet opweegt tegen de beloning
in de hemel!" Niet bepaald een aantrekkelijk vooruitzicht. Voor
Peerke juist wel. Hij was de enige die zich aanmeldde.
Op 16 september 1842
arriveerde hij in Paramaribo. Zijn werkterrein werd al gauw het oerwoud: hij
werd rivierenpater. Omgeven door muskieten en allerhande ongedierte trok hij
naar de nederzettingen van de bosnegers, naar de dorpjes van de negerslaven die
door de Hollanders uit Afrika naar Suriname waren gesleept en nu van de
plantages waren gevlucht tot diep in de oerwouden; hij besteedde zijn zorgen
aan de Indianen. Daar moest hij soms zeven dagen voor in zijn wankele tentboot
over verraderlijke rivieren varen.
Peerke Donders is vooral
beroemd geworden om zijn werk in de melaatsenkolonie 'Batavia', een eind buiten
Paramaribo. Aan deze eenzame, verstoten en vergeten mensen heeft hij de meeste
toewijding besteed. Hij verzorgde de walgelijkste ziektegevallen, aanhoorde hun
klachten en verhalen, probeerde ze op te beuren, en legde hun uit dat de zonde
veel en veel erger is dan de melaatsheid. En dat God er juist op de eerste
plaats voor hen was. Dat was het diepste ideaal van Pater Peerke: de mensen
laten voelen dat er voor hen liefde en genade was. Ook, ja juist als anderen je
opzijschoven en isoleerden, dan was in ieder geval God er voor jou. Pater
Peerke beschouwde het als zijn roeping dat zichtbaar te maken.
[000»jrb; 124p:118-119; 217p:15; 288; Dries van den Akker s.j./2010.02.25]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/01/14/01-14-1887-peerke.php
Ami de Dieu : le père
Pierre Donders : https://www.archivioradiovaticana.va/storico/2010/10/29/ami_de_dieu__le_p%C3%A8re_pierre_donders/fr1-434918
Blessed Petrus Donders : https://www.marypages.com/petrus-donders.html
