St. Martin de Porres
Brother Martin, the saint of the broom: humility, charity and an open door for everyone.
Biography
A man who found doors closed, and opened them all
Martin grew up in Lima at the end of the sixteenth century. Because of the color of his skin and his illegitimate birth, colonial society offered him few chances. He answered with a whole life given to service.
In the Dominican convent he swept the halls, dressed wounds and kept watch over the sick at night. Those who knew him said he welcomed enslaved people, Indigenous people, Spaniards and strangers at the door with the same love, and shared the convent's food with the hungry of the city.
His friend St. John Macías and St. Rose of Lima were his contemporaries. Together they are the heart of Lima's saints.
History
His life in six dates
- 1579
Born in Lima, Peru, on December 9, the son of Juan de Porres, a Spanish nobleman, and Ana Velázquez, a freed woman of African descent.
- 1594
At about fifteen he enters the Dominican convent of the Holy Rosary as a helper. He learns the barber's trade and cares for the sick.
- 1603
He takes his vows as a Dominican brother. He serves in the infirmary, the kitchen and at the door, and feeds the poor of the city.
- 1639
He dies in Lima on November 3, surrounded by the love of people who already called him a saint.
- 1837
Pope Gregory XVI beatifies him.
- 1962
Pope John XXIII canonizes him on May 6. He is the first Black saint of the Americas.
Spirituality
The holiness of small things
The broom he carries in his images is his message: no work is small when it is done out of love. Martin prayed for long hours before the Blessed Sacrament and went straight from prayer to service.
Tradition also remembers his tenderness toward animals: it is said that a dog, a cat and a mouse ate from the same dish in his cell, a sign of the peace he sowed.
What is done out of love is never small.
Legacy
Patron of social justice
St. Martin is the patron of people of mixed race, of social justice and of public health workers. His feast day is November 3.
In the United States he is especially loved by African American and Latino Catholic communities, who see in him a brother who knew exclusion and answered with charity.
Our parish bears his name and wants to live as he did: with the door open, a broom in hand and a heart set on the Lord.
Prayer
St. Martin de Porres, you who served everyone without distinction, help us recognize Christ in every person who comes to our door. Amen.