Saint Martin de Porres: Apostle of Charity

The sons of St. Dominic were the first to preach the Gospel in the land of the Incas. They had shared the perils of the Peruvian adventure with Pizarro in the same boat in which he and his men sailed south through the Pacific. Missionaries of many other orders followed them: Franciscans, Augustinians, Mercedarians, Jesuits. But divine Providence reserved for the first missionary workers the finest fruits of the seed of the Gospel sown between the seacoast and the forbidding heights of the Andes.

Born shortly after the founding of Lima, Martin entered the Dominican Order early in life. There he spent the remainder of his 60 years in complete dedication to his order and the cause of the poor, sick and neglected of Lima while growing to the highest levels of sanctity and humility. The appeal of St. Martin de Porres is universal. Called an apostle of charity, patron of social justice, father of the sick and poor, and helper in hopeless cases, he is a powerful intercessor to those in need.

The close friend of St. Rose of Lima, he became a Dominican lay brother at 15 and spent his life (he died at 61) helping those in need. Many great anecdotes tell how he raised the dead; multiplied food; cured the sick; healed wounded animals; visited those in need through bilocation; did extreme penance and gained the names of Apostle of Charity, patron of social justice, father of the sick and poor, and helper in hopeless cases.

 

St. Martin de Porres: Apostle of Charity was written in 1957 at the request of the Postulation of the Dominican Order at Santa Sabina, Rome. Following the canonization of St. Martin in 1963, the author added new material especially for the English translation to make it as definitive as possible. The efforts of Giuliana Cavallini met with such praise and satisfaction that Most Reverend Aniceto Fernandez, O.P., selected this book as an official biography of St. Martin de Porres.