Travel Pouch with Portraits of Missionary Father Felix Westerwoudt, 1898

Description

A travel pouch with portraits of missionary father felix westerwoudt, 1898. A leather pouch with a portrait in oval velvet … more A travel pouch with portraits of missionary father felix westerwoudt, 1898. A leather pouch with a portrait in oval velvet fabric passe-partout. Signed and dated 1898 the pouch measures closed 13,5 cm high, 9 cm wide and the depth is 2 cm the weight is 93 gram shows traces of use westerwoudt (father felix), b. March 14, 1861, amsterdam; died april 13, 1898 in kuching. R.k. Missionary in borneo. He was the youngest son of mr. F.th. Westerwoudt, the well-known catholic statesman, councilor of state in extraordinary. Service, 40 years member of gedep. States of the united states hollow. Initially a pupil of the municipal gymnasium in amsterdam, 'father' felix received his training as a priest at the seminaries hageveld and warmond, and went to st. Joseph's college at mill-hill near london to prepare for the mission, in october 1883, where he was ordained a priest march 1, 1885; on the 1st of october he left for kuching, the capital of sarawak, accompanied by 'father' reiffert, also an amsterdammer, who had been assigned to kanowit's mission. Westerwoudt was assigned to the mission on den singhi, a 2000 feet high mountain a day's journey from kuching, where 4 to 5000 land dayaks live on a plateau, an unattractive and difficult to treat people of borneo. Most residents are covered with skin diseases. None of them were christian. After much hardship and countless hardships, after more than 13 years, den singhi's mission counted about twenty good catholic natives and a catholic marriage was concluded. A school had already been established earlier, and in 1891 two spiritual sisters had come to assist, who mainly saw to the conversion of the girls. "ask nothing, refuse nothing" was the missionary's slogan. The chief features of his life on the singhi were his great prudence, his unconquerable trust in god, his great patience, his unfailing cheerfulness, his love of poverty and mortification. A tiny flock of christians was the fruit of all that life of sacrifice. See book: e. Van rijckevorssel westerwoudt, a dutch missionary felix westerwoudt, tilburg 1919. less