Biography
Martin was born in Lima, Peru, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed slave of African and Native descent. Because of his mixed race, he faced severe discrimination and was legally barred from full religious orders. He joined the Dominicans as a 'donado' (a lay volunteer performing menial tasks) and later became a lay brother. Assigned to the infirmary, his medical skills, combined with miraculous healing powers, made him famous throughout Lima. He treated nobles and slaves alike. He established an orphanage, cared for the poor, and was known to converse with and heal animals, famously getting mice to leave the monastery by feeding them outside. He lived a life of extreme penance and possessed spiritual gifts including bilocation and levitation.
Miracles & Signs
- ✦Bilocation (appearing in Mexico, Japan, and Africa to comfort missionaries while remaining in Lima)
- ✦Levitation while in deep prayer before the Crucifix
- ✦Passing through locked doors to tend to the sick
Wisdom & Quotes
“Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables, weeding a garden and waiting on the sick could be a prayer, if it were offered to God.”
“Compassion, my dear Brother, is preferable to cleanliness.”