Dominican Lay Brother (1579-1639)
Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a free Black woman. His father refused to recognize his “mulatto” child. When Martin was fifteen he applied to enter a Dominican monastery as a lay helper and was assigned such menial tasks as sweeping the cloister and cleaning the latrines. Despite his extreme humility, Martin could not long disguise his talents and abilities, particularly in the field of medicine and nursing. Soon he was put in charge of the monastery infirmary, where his knowledge of herbal remedies was apparently supplemented by miraculous powers to heal by his mere touch or presence.
Martin’s charity toward the poor and homeless was legendary. He cared for the sick and injured wherever he found them, often carrying them to his cell to lay them in his own bed. He also treated sick animals, with whom he could apparently communicate, with the same devotion he extended to humans.
On both the natural and moral planes, Martin seemed to exceed the limits of the possible. This included his extreme asceticism. He took upon himself the sins of his age—slavery, scorn of the Natives, oppression of the poor. Pope John XXIII named Martin patron of all who work for justice.
“Always consider others as more holy and more worthy than you, at the same time strive to be as holy as you can be.”
—St. Martin de Porres
