Roman Catholic Saint. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and an African woman. His father abandoned him and his younger sister, leading to a life of poverty. When he was young, his mother apprenticed him to a surgeon, where he learned to care for the sick. Under Peruvian law, descendants of Africans and Indigenous were barred from becoming full members of religious orders, so he later entered the abbey as a lay brother in the infirmary. In 1603 he was allowed to profess religious vows as a Dominican lay brother. Brother Martin looked after the ill and did any humble task assigned. He effected many cures and also ran a hospital for cats and dogs. He lived a life of simplicity and devotion to all creatures. He fed hundreds of people daily and founded a residence for orphans and abandoned children in the city of Lima. During an epidemic, sixty friars became ill. He is said to have miraculously passed through locked doors to care for the ill friars. He was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony. His liturgical feast day is held on November 3.
Roman Catholic Saint. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and an African woman. His father abandoned him and his younger sister, leading to a life of poverty. When he was young, his mother apprenticed him to a surgeon, where he learned to care for the sick. Under Peruvian law, descendants of Africans and Indigenous were barred from becoming full members of religious orders, so he later entered the abbey as a lay brother in the infirmary. In 1603 he was allowed to profess religious vows as a Dominican lay brother. Brother Martin looked after the ill and did any humble task assigned. He effected many cures and also ran a hospital for cats and dogs. He lived a life of simplicity and devotion to all creatures. He fed hundreds of people daily and founded a residence for orphans and abandoned children in the city of Lima. During an epidemic, sixty friars became ill. He is said to have miraculously passed through locked doors to care for the ill friars. He was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony. His liturgical feast day is held on November 3.
Bio by: Linda Davis
Gravesite Details
St. Martin's remains are in a silver urn on a high side altar (right side) near fellow Dominican Saints, St. John Macias and St. Rose of Lima. A statute of his stands above the urn marking his remains.
