Catholic Fire

On November 3, we celebrate the feast of St Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican Brother whose life of charity and devotion led to his canonization as the first black saint of the Americas. Martin was born in Lima, Peru in 1579, the son of a Spanish knight, Don Juan de Porres and the former Panamanian slave Ana Velazquez. His father initially refused to acknowledge the boy publicly as his own, because Martin, like his mother, was black. Though Martin's father later helped to provide for his education, his son faced difficulties because of his family background. At age 12, Martin studied to be a barber, which at that time meant he was also a druggist, a physician and a surgeon. Once trained, he began to use his skills to serve the poor. He became very well known for his compassion and skill as a barber, and cared for many people as well as animals. Martin was a pious child, who began praying at a young age. He had a deep devotion to our Lord’s Passion, and prayed for di...

Today we celebrate the feast of St Martin de Porres, the first black American Saint. He was born in Lima, Peru in 1579, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a freed black slave woman from Panama. His father was repulsed by the darkness of his son's skin at birth and deserted him. At age 12, Martin was apprenticed to a "surgeon," at that time a combination of barber, druggist, physician and surgeon. Once trained, he began to use his skills to serve the poor. Martin was a pious child, who began praying at a young age. He had a deep devotion to our Lord’s Passion, and prayed for discernment to know how he could show his gratitude to God for this great sacrifice. He believed that God was calling to serve as a religious. At fifteen, he became a lay brother at the Dominican Friary in Lima, where he worked as a barber, a farm laborer, a clothier, and a care-giver for the sick. Each day Martin distributed food to the hungry, he nursed the sick, and he helped to found an or...