St Martin De Porres

Today, November 3rd, is the feast of Saint Martin de Porres (1579-1639), “Apostle of Charity” and “Saint of the Broom”: Peruvian mulatto, Dominican tertiary, ascetic, mystic, ecstatic, wonderworker, and Confessor of the Faith.

St. Martin was born in Lima, Peru, to a Spanish father and Indian mother.
He was a pharmacist and a nurse. He later entered the Dominican Order as a lay brother, founding an orphanage and children’s hospital, and spent his life working for the sick and the poor.

He had the gift of bilocation, miraculous knowledge, and instantaneous cures. His extraordinary charity was his greatest attribute.

St. Martin de Porres is the patron saint of social justice, mixed-race people, African-Americans, hairdressers, barbers, public education, public health, the poor, and those seeking racial harmony.

Among the many miracles attributed to him were those of levitation, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, & a remarkable rapport with animals.

Canonised in 1962, he is the only saint of African descent from the Western Hemisphere.

Saint Martin de Porres is often invoked for:

– Protection and care for the poor and marginalised

– Healing and comfort for the sick

– Guidance and support for those working in social justice

– Strength and courage in the face of adversity

– Intercession for racial harmony and understanding

His feast day is a celebration of his life and legacy, and a reminder of the importance of serving the poor and marginalised.

“Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables, weeding a garden and waiting on the sick could be a prayer, if offered up to God.” – St Martin de Porres