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Posted: Friday, December 2nd, 2005 3:34 PM HST

Belgian Dutch-speakers elect Father Damien as "greatest Belgian"

By Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) _ The Dutch-speakers from Belgium's northern part elected priest Father Damien as the ``greatest Belgian,'' newspapers said Friday. In the poll of the six (m) million Dutch-speaking Flemings, Father Damien, who devoted his life to leprosy sufferers in Hawaii, beat the late medical scientist Paul Janssen and cyclist Eddy Merckx. Ten years ago, pope John Paul came to Belgium to beatify Father Damien, a model for the late Polish pontiff. Damien was 23 when he arrived in Honolulu in 1864. Nine years later, he went to the leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa on Molokai, answering a call for volunteers. Damien later contracted the disease himself and died at 49. Father Damien won the poll with 51 percent. Janssen had 27 percent and Merckx finished with 22 percent. (Copyright 2005 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)