Peter Donders was born in Holland in 1809. From his youth he felt called to the priesthood, but his family’s poverty was an obstacle. It caused him to leave school and begin learning a trade. Eventually, at the age of 22, he entered the diocesan seminary as a student and part-time worker.
After ordination in 1841 he travelled as a missionary to the Dutch colony of Suriname. There in 1856 he offered to serve at the leprosarium of Batavia. He spent most of the next 21 years there.
He became a Redemptorist in 1866, and as a member of the Congregation he continued to be serve his beloved lepers in Batavia. It was there that he died on January 14, 1887. He was beatified in 1982, the 250th Jubilee of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
For more information
For more about Blessed Peter Donders, check out the book Blessed Peter Donders: His Writings and Spirituality.