59 years (1579–1639)
Martin de Porres/Age at death

He is the patron saint of social justice, racial harmony, and mixed-race people. Born of a liaison between a Spanish grandee and a free black woman, Martín de Porres was raised in poverty and bore the stigmas of both his illegitimate birth and his mixed race.

He is the patron saint of mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony….Martin de Porres.

Saint Martin of Tours, patron saint of Saint Martin’s University, figures prominently in the development of Christianity in fourth-century Europe. This gentle, humble servant of God, known best for helping those most in need, was chosen by the people of Tours as their spiritual leader, a role he reluctantly accepted.

Beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI, he was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962. Martin, the charitable, was acclaimed the Patron of Social Justice because he worked for the equal rights of all classes of people.

Benedict the Moor

Martin of Tours. St. Martin of Tours, (born 316, Sabaria, Pannonia [now Szombathely, Hungary]—died November 8, 397, Candes, Gaul [France]; Western feast day, November 11; Eastern feast day November 12), patron saint of France, father of monasticism in Gaul, and the first great leader of Western monasticism.

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Martin regularly performed miracles. He could levitate, bilocate (appear in two places at once), and communicate with animals. He died a famed and much-revered figure in 1639. Miraculous cures were claimed at his tomb almost immediately after he was interred, which led to a papal enquiry in 1660.

Martin de Porres , The First Black Saint in the Americas. From Lima, Peru he was often called Saint Martin of Charity; and the Saint of the Broom (for his devotion to his work, no matter how menial). De Porres was the Illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed Black slave, he grew up in poverty.

St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. Martin was the illegitimate son to a Spanish gentlemen and a freed slave from Panama, of African or possibly Native American descent. At a young age, Martin’s father abandoned him, his mother and his younger sister, leaving Martin to grow up in deep poverty.

The Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo, where de Porres is buried, in Lima, Peru. Martin was a friend of both St. Juan Macías, a fellow Dominican lay brother, and St. Rose of Lima, a lay Dominican.

Saint Martin de Porres, O.P. Portrait of St. Martin de Porres, c. 17th century, Monastery of Rosa of Santa Maria in Lima. This portrait was painted during his lifetime or very soon after his death, hence it is probably the most true to his appearance.

At the age of twelve, Martin began an apprenticeship with a barber/surgeon named Marcel de Rivero. He proved extremely skilful at this trade and soon customers, who at first were sceptical of the young coloured boy, came to prefer and ask for him.