Martin de Porres

Uncommon card · No. 77618

Martín de Porras Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian, pharmacist, barber, nurse and lay brother of the Dominican Order. Born to a Spanish nobleman and formerly enslaved Black woman, he entered the Dominicans in 1603 and was known for his work on behalf of the poor, establishing an orphanage and a children's hospital. He also maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Among the many miracles attributed to him were those of levitation, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and an ability to communicate with animals. He was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of Black people, mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, all those seeking racial harmony, and animals.

Read on Wikipedia · Image AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain