HAND PAINTED PLASTER STATUE – 9 Inches High & 3 Inches Width

San Martín de Porres Velázquez or San Martín de Porras Velázquez (Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru, December 9, 1579-ib., November 3, 1639) was a friar born in the Viceroyalty of Peru to the Dominican order. He was the first mulatto saint in America. He is also known as “the saint of the broom” for being represented with a broom in his hand as a symbol of his humility.

STORY ABOUT HIM
He was baptized in the same baptismal font that seven years later would be Santa Rosa de Lima, in the church of San Sebastián. Martín learned the profession of barber, which included that of surgeon and general medicine, although he devoted his life to helping the most disadvantaged. In 1594, he entered the Order of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Giving vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. San Martín de Porres underwent severe penances and intense hours of prayer, slept and ate little.

His service as a nurse ranged from his Dominican brothers to the most abandoned people he could find on the street. His holiness was manifested through the love he showed for others and the great purity of his life, especially in the care he always gave to the poor and the sick, a nurse and herbalist gardener, Fray Martín cultivated medicinal plants that relieved his sick.

WHEN DO WE PRAY HIM?
San Martín de Porres is patron of social justice, and universal patron of peace, of the sick. We pray to him for lift up our Hearts, for Grace, for Humility. We ask him for the health of our families, for giving us peace of mind, spirit and body. We ask you for the poverty in the world and for you to help people who present needs in their lives.

PRAYER
Most humble Martin de Porres, whose burning charity embraced not only thy needy brethren but also the very animals of the field, splendid example of charity, we hail and invoke thee. From that high throne which thou dost occupy, deign to listen to the supplications of thy needy brethren that, by imitating thy virtues, we may live contented in that state in which God has placed us, and, carrying our cross with strength and courage, we may follow in the footsteps of our Blessed Redeemer and His most afflicted Mother, to reach at last the Kingdom of Heaven through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

SHRINES AT THE UNITED STATES
National Shrine of Saint Martin de Porres in Memphis, Tennessee.