The Apostle of Indigenous Peoples

Saint Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, on December 9, 1579, and was baptized in the Church of Saint Sebastian. In the early years of his life, he lived with his mother—an ex-slave of African descent—and his sister Giovanna, in difficult conditions despite being acknowledged by his father. When Martin was about eight years old, his father, Juan de Porres, a Spanish nobleman, finally decided to take charge of his education, bringing his children with him to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where they could live more comfortably.