Father Damien, famous for his missionary work with exiled lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, is finally Saint Damien. His sanctity took 120 years to become officially recognized, but between his death in 1889 and his canonization in 2009--amid creeping secularization and suspicion of the missionary spirit he so much embodied--Fr. Damien De Veuster never faded from the world's memory. What kept him there? What keeps him there now? To find an answer, Belgian historian and journalist Jan De Volder sifted through Father Damien's personal correspondence as well as the Vatican archives. With careful and even-handed expertise, De Volder follows Father Damien's transformation from the stout, somewhat haughty missionary of his youth, bounding from Europe to Hawaii and straight into seemingly tireless priestly work, to the humble and loving shepherd of souls who eventually succumbed to the same disease that ravaged his flock. De Volder finds that--as spiritual father, caretaker, teacher, and advocate--Father Damien accomplished many heroic feats for these poor outcasts. Yet the greatest gift he gave them was their transformation from a disordered, lawless throng exiled in desperate anarchy into a living community built on Jesus Christ, a community in which they learned to care for one another. Every generation seems to have its own image of this world-famous priest. Already during his life on Molokai and at his death in 1889, many considered him a holy man. Even today, in the highly secularized Western world, he is widely admired. In 2005 his native Belgium honored him with the title "the greatest Belgian" in polling conducted by their public broadcasting service. Statues honor his memory in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and at the entrance to the Hawaiian State Capitol in Honolulu. In 1995, in the presence of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Pope John Paul II beatified him in Brussels, Belgium; and in 2009 Pope Benedict XVI canonized him in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Today Father Damien is the unofficial patron of outcasts and those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Illustrated with many photos. De Volder contends that the common thread running through the saint's life, the spirit of Father Damien that so speaks to the world, is at once uniquely Christian, fully human, and as important today as ever before.

The fourth book in the series Father Damien’s War is Father Damien’s Revenge that follows The Dark Society. This book continues the life of Father Damien in Florence, Italy, after the conclusion of World War II. Father Damien resigns from his position with the church after learning about the Vatican’s involvement in the escape of war criminals through the rat lines established by Bishop Alois Hudal. Bishop Hudal had aided these war refugees in the acquisition of Red Cross Passports to foreign countries, including Argentina. John Damien goes undercover at the request of Robert Mudd, U S Army Counter Intelligence agent, in partnership with Rodolfo Siviero, secret agent of the Servizio Informazioni Militare headquartered in Florence, Italy. Alcide De Gasperi, President of the Council of Ministers, expands Rodolfo’s post-war involvement in the government by appointing him as Minister Plenipotentiary. Father Damien’s involvement in the investigation at the Vatican College leads to a brutal beating at the direction of Bishop Hudal. Father Damien is determined to expose their operation and take out his revenge on all that support Bishop Hudal. Rodolfo’s recent marriage and honeymoon provides an opening for planning their attack on the college and expose the war criminals in hiding. Robert Mudd and his men stand ready to arrest those who are exposed by covert actions conducted by Father Damien’s team. The plan and the operation are sanctioned by Lynda Alderman, second in command at the Florence headquarters. The team includes his list of associates Sgt. Wayne Fritzmeyer and Corp. Glen Rothgeb, and Sgt. Derrick Hodge and Corp. Charles Walker. The primary purpose of the mission is to expose and capture war criminals, and secondly, to locate and recover stolen art. John Damien, as a member of the Ministry Plenipotentiary, desires to expand their role of recovering looted art and artifacts to bringing war criminals to justice. His associates proclaim his intentions as Father Damien’s War.

"A revised and expanded, comprehensive guide to the novels of Native American author Louise Erdrich from Love Medicine to The Painted Drum. Includes chronologies, genealogical charts, complete dictionary of characters, map and geographical details about settings, and a glossary of all the Ojibwe words and phrases used in the novels"--Provided by publisher.

A collection of suggested activities are provided in this book for various saints on their feast days.

An in-depth resource that separates fact from myth about the lives of saints Saints For Dummies offers information on famous saints (both men and women) from the Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic traditions. With a historical biography on each saint including information on what they are known for, what they did in life to achieve sainthood, and how readers can pray to them in time of need. This easy-to-understand guide reveals that most saints were very common, ordinary, and imperfect human beings with faults and foibles who overcame their shortcomings to become figures of great spiritual and historical significance. You get a unique glimpse into the lives and the character traits of these righteous men and women, as well as future pending saints. Explains which saints are invoked for specific situations Rev. John Trigilio and Rev. Kenneth Brighenti are the coauthors of Catholicism For Dummies, Women in the Bible For Dummies and John Paul II For Dummies Whether you're a scholar or just curious about the topic, Saints For Dummies will have you intrigued and informed from the first page.

Between 1866 and 1969, an estimated 8,000 individuals—at least 90 percent of whom were Native Hawaiians—were sent to Molokai’s remote Kalaupapa peninsula because they were believed to have leprosy. Unwilling to accept the loss of their families, homes, and citizenship, these individuals ensured they would be accorded their rightful place in history. They left a powerful testimony of their lives in the form of letters, petitions, music, memoirs, and oral history interviews. Kalaupapa combines more than 200 hours of interviews with archival documents, including over 300 letters and petitions written by the earliest residents translated from Hawaiian. It has long been assumed that those sent to Kalaupapa were unconcerned with the world they were forced to leave behind. The present work shows that residents remained actively interested and involved in life beyond Kalaupapa. They petitioned the Hawaii Legislative Assembly in 1874, seeking justice. They fervently supported Queen Liliuokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom prior to annexation and contributed to the relief effort in Europe following World War I. In 1997 Kalaupapa residents advocated at the United Nations together with people affected by leprosy from around the world. This book presents at long last the story of Kalaupapa as told by its people.

Leading scholars critically explore three leading novels by Louise Erdrich, one of the most important and popular Native American writers working today. Louise Erdrich has shaped the possibilities for Native American, women's and popular fiction in the United States during the late twentieth century. Louise Erdrich collects new essays by noted scholars of Native American Literature on three important novels that chart the trajectory of Erdrich's novelistic career, "Tracks (1988)," "The Last Report on the Miracles At Little No Horse (2001)" and "The Plague of Doves (2007)". This book illuminates Erdrich's multiperspectival representation of Native American culture and history. Focusing on such topics as humor, religion, ethnicity, gender, race, sexuality, trauma, history, and narrative form, the essays collected here offer fresh readings of Erdrich's explorations of Native American identities through her innovative fictions. This series offers up-to-date guides to the recent work of major contemporary North American authors. Written by leading scholars in the field, each book presents a range of original interpretations of three key texts published since 1990, showing how the same novel may be interpreted in a number of different ways. These informative, accessible volumes will appeal to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, facilitating discussion and supporting close analysis of the most important contemporary American and Canadian fiction.