On May 13, the Saint Francis Leprosy Guild celebrates the birth of their founder, Kate Marsden, born in north London on this day in 1859.
As a young woman, Marsden was inspired by stories of Father Damien Molokai, later recognised as a Saint for his work among lepers in Hawaii. Marsden became a nurse, working for a time in New Zealand and later caring for soldiers wounded in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877. Serving in Bulgaria that she first encountered patients with leprosy, who convinced her of her mission to those suffering from the disease.
