Prout, Father: see Mahony, Francis Sylvester.

Our Father: see Lord's Prayer.

Joseph, Father (François Leclerc du Tremblay), 1577-1638, French Capuchin monk, a confidant and agent of Cardinal Richelieu, generally known as the Éminence Grise [gray eminence]. Combining the elements of a mystic and of a Machiavellian politician, he devoted his life with equal energy to missionary work and to the shady and delicate diplomatic negotiations with which Richelieu entrusted him. He dreamed of a crusade against the Turks and of the restoration of Roman Catholicism throughout Europe, yet he lent his services to a policy that strengthened Protestantism and the Ottoman Empire at the expense of the Catholic house of Hapsburg. Rumors ascribed to him an evil influence over the cardinal. It is more likely, however, that Father Joseph was a pliable instrument in the cardinal's hands and that his influence on the events that led to the entry of France into the Thirty Years War has been vastly exaggerated. Unlike his master, Father Joseph sought no material rewards. He is the subject of a study by Aldous Huxley, Grey Eminence (1941, repr. 1969).

Father Marquette National Memorial: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Divine, Father, c.1882-1965, African-American religious leader, founder of the Peace Mission movement, b. probably near Savannah, Ga. and named George Baker. After preaching in the South, he moved to Harlem (1915) in New York City, became one of the neighborhood's biggest landlords, acquired wealth through other businesses, including restaurants and grocery stores, and began styling himself Major M. J. Divine, later Father Divine. Although once dismissed as a cult leader, he built the largest religious movement in northern ghettos during the Great Depression. His role as an early civil-rights activist—he led antilynching campaigns, instituted economic cooperatives, and organized political action against racial discrimination—has come to be more appreciated. The movement spread beyond New York City to other places in the United States and abroad, sometimes after the group sent whites to purchase property in segregated areas. During the 1940s, his health and influence declined, but his movement symbolized the progressive spirit in the black church and helped define the church's active role in the civil-rights movement.

Damien, Father (Damien de Veuster), 1840-89, Belgian missionary priest, originally named Joseph de Veuster. He went to Hawaii (1864) as a Picpus Father (Father of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary). He was ordained (1864) in Honolulu and worked among the islanders for several years. In 1873, at his request, he was sent to the lepers' colony on Molokai island, where he labored until his death from leprosy. Attention was called to Father Damien by a tract in his defense by R. L. Stevenson, An Open Letter to the Reverend Dr. Hyde, addressed to a minister who had made some slanderous insinuations against Father Damien shortly after his death. In 1936 his body was removed in great state from Molokai to Antwerp.

Prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples and used by all Christians as the basic prayer in common worship. It appears in two forms in the New Testament: a shorter version in Luke 11:2–4, and a longer version, part of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6:9–13. In both contexts it is offered as a model of how to pray. It is sometimes called the Pater Noster (Latin: “Our Father”) for its first two words.

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orig. François-Joseph le Clerc du Tremblay

(born Nov. 4, 1577, Paris, France—died Dec. 18, 1638, Rueil) French mystic and religious reformer. He joined the Capuchins in 1599. His fervent ambition to convert European Protestants to Roman Catholicism coincided with cardinal de Richelieu's plans for French domination of Europe, and he became Richelieu's secretary in 1611. He became known as the “Gray Eminence” (for his gray Capuchin cloak), and his close collaboration with Richelieu (the “Red Eminence”) gave him powers akin to those of a foreign minister, especially during Richelieu's campaign to finance France's participation in the Thirty Years' War, which Joseph's policies did much to bring about.

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orig. François-Joseph le Clerc du Tremblay

(born Nov. 4, 1577, Paris, France—died Dec. 18, 1638, Rueil) French mystic and religious reformer. He joined the Capuchins in 1599. His fervent ambition to convert European Protestants to Roman Catholicism coincided with cardinal de Richelieu's plans for French domination of Europe, and he became Richelieu's secretary in 1611. He became known as the “Gray Eminence” (for his gray Capuchin cloak), and his close collaboration with Richelieu (the “Red Eminence”) gave him powers akin to those of a foreign minister, especially during Richelieu's campaign to finance France's participation in the Thirty Years' War, which Joseph's policies did much to bring about.

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orig. George Baker

(born 1880?, Georgia?, U.S.—died Sept. 10, 1965, Philadelphia, Pa.) U.S. religious leader. Reportedly born on a plantation, he began preaching in 1899 in the South and later in Baltimore, Md., as “The Messenger.” He settled in New York City in 1915 and adopted the name Major J. Devine (later altered to Father Divine). In 1919 he established his first communal settlement in Sayville on Long Island, and he founded the Peace Mission movement. His predominantly black following expanded rapidly in the 1930s and '40s, and his settlements, called “heavens,” eventually numbered about 170. He taught his followers to renounce personal property, and the strict moral code he preached included celibacy and a ban on alcohol and tobacco. Many of his followers, called “angels,” believed him to be God.

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orig. Joseph de Veuster

(born Jan. 3, 1840, Tremelo, Belg.—died April 15, 1889, Molokai, Hawaii) Belgian priest. After training at the College of Braine-le-Comte, he joined the Society of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1858. He went as a missionary to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands in 1863 and was ordained there in 1864. In 1873 he volunteered to take charge of the leper colony on Molokai Island. There he served as both physician and priest, dramatically improving living conditions and building two orphanages. He contracted leprosy himself in 1884 but refused to leave his post, and he died at Molokai five years later.

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orig. George Baker

(born 1880?, Georgia?, U.S.—died Sept. 10, 1965, Philadelphia, Pa.) U.S. religious leader. Reportedly born on a plantation, he began preaching in 1899 in the South and later in Baltimore, Md., as “The Messenger.” He settled in New York City in 1915 and adopted the name Major J. Devine (later altered to Father Divine). In 1919 he established his first communal settlement in Sayville on Long Island, and he founded the Peace Mission movement. His predominantly black following expanded rapidly in the 1930s and '40s, and his settlements, called “heavens,” eventually numbered about 170. He taught his followers to renounce personal property, and the strict moral code he preached included celibacy and a ban on alcohol and tobacco. Many of his followers, called “angels,” believed him to be God.

Learn more about Divine, Father with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. Joseph de Veuster

(born Jan. 3, 1840, Tremelo, Belg.—died April 15, 1889, Molokai, Hawaii) Belgian priest. After training at the College of Braine-le-Comte, he joined the Society of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1858. He went as a missionary to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands in 1863 and was ordained there in 1864. In 1873 he volunteered to take charge of the leper colony on Molokai Island. There he served as both physician and priest, dramatically improving living conditions and building two orphanages. He contracted leprosy himself in 1884 but refused to leave his post, and he died at Molokai five years later.

Learn more about Damien, Father with a free trial on Britannica.com.