St. Martin de Porres

Their story

Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. His father was a Spanish nobleman and his mother, Ana Velázquez, was a freed Black woman from Panama. Because he was of mixed race, Martin faced prejudice all his life, and his father soon left the family, leaving them poor. As a boy Martin was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon, learning to cut hair, treat wounds and prepare medicines. At fifteen he asked to join the Dominican friars in Lima. At first he was accepted only as a servant, but his humility and holiness were so clear that he was later received as a lay brother. Martin served as the friary’s barber, nurse and almoner. He cared for the sick of every race and class, fed hundreds of poor people each day, helped found an orphanage, and was gentle even with stray animals. Stories are told of a dog, a cat and a mouse eating peacefully from the same dish at his feet. He was a close friend of St. Rose of Lima. He died in 1639 and was canonized in 1962, the first Black saint of the Americas.