Saint Martin de Porres

Item Number: P99

Size: 9 1/4" (23.5cm)
[1579-1639] He was born in Lima, Peru, the son of a Spanish Knight and a Black or Indian woman from Panama. Martin became a barber and studied surgery before entering the Dominican Friary in Lima as a lay brother. Here he nursed the sick and soon became friends with the destitute, ill treated slaves and stray animals. When he was dying in 1639, the Spanish Viceroy came to kneel by his bed and ask for his blessing. He was canonized in 1962. He is patron of barbers, hairdressers, public education, public health service and of interracial justice. His feast is November 3.