Born in 1579 in Peru, Martin de Porres was the son of a Spanish nobleman and a former enslaved black mother.
Unable to financially support her children, de Porres' mother sent him to live with a barber/surgeon to learn the medical arts. He began spending long hours at prayer as well--several hours a day by the time he was 10.
At 15, he became a servant boy in the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima. De Porres felt the call to join the Dominican order. At 34, de Porres was assigned to the infirmary. Soon thereafter, miracles were attributed to him.
According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, "Martín was said to be capable of bilocation (being in two places at once), and individuals from both Africa and Mexico swore that they had encountered him in their home villages even though he was never known to have left Lima. Patients under his care spoke on several occasions of his having walked through locked doors in order to render medical help."
De Porres was also known for his incredibly charity and skill in caring for the sick despite race or class.
In November 1639, De Porres died of fever. He was beatified in 1837 and canonized in 1962.
Pope John XXIII remarked at the canonization of Martin: "He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly he comforted the sick; he provided food, clothing and medicine for the poor; he helped, as best he could, farm laborers and Negroes, as well as mulattoes, who were looked upon at that time as akin to slaves: thus he deserved to be called by the name the people gave him: 'Martin of Charity.'"
Hat tip to Steve Riley of MixedRaceStudies.org for introducing me to this wonderful historical figure.
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Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by writer Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to show that there is a long history of achievements of those involved in the Mixed experience. Please look for more profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May at Lightskinned-ed Girl, the blog! Thanks for reading. And check out some of the previous year's profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.
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