Novena to Saint Martin de Porres – 9 Days of Prayer
Novena to the first Black saint of the Americas, Dominican lay brother who served Lima's poorest — patron of racial harmony, barbers, the poor, and those who suffer discrimination
St. Martin de Porres was a Dominican lay brother in Lima, the son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed African woman. He served the poor and the sick with extraordinary kindness and is a patron of racial harmony. This novena asks for justice and compassion. His feast is November 3. He is the patron of racial harmony, barbers and public health workers, and tradition says he cared for animals as well as people. Pray the novena for social justice, for the sick and for every community divided by prejudice.
A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer. Begin nine days before the feast (November 3) and finish on its eve. You can pray this novena at any time of year.
Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app
Open in the app App StoreGoogle PlayNovena to Saint Martin de Porres – prayer for all nine days
Intention: For Racial Justice, the Poor, and All Who Are Marginalized by Their Origins
Martin de Porres was born in Lima in 1579. His father was a Spanish nobleman; his mother was a freed Black woman from Panama. His father refused to acknowledge him at first. The Church refused to accept him as a friar because of his race — he was allowed only to be a lay servant with lesser standing.
He spent forty years in that lesser position, serving anyway. He ran a hospital for the poor. He distributed food and medicine in the streets. He cared for Black slaves who arrived sick from ships. He cared for animals with the same attention he gave to humans.
He is said to have had the gift of bilocation, of levitation, of healing the sick by touch. Whether these stories are exact, this is certain: the poor of Lima knew his name and came to him.
Saint Martin, you were told by the Church itself that your origins made you less. You accepted a lesser title and served anyway, for forty years, without bitterness that history records.
I cannot tell if that was resignation or a different kind of courage — the kind that does the work without needing to win the argument first.
(Pause to mention your intentions)
For anyone who is told by systems or institutions that they are less — give them your groundedness. For those working for racial justice — give them your patience and your fire. For the poor who are forgotten — let your example make us remember.
Saint Martin de Porres, pray for us.
Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be...
Saint Martin, pray for us.
Pray this prayer once a day for nine days in a row.
Traditional Catholic Devotional Prayer · Feast Day: November 3. Martín de Porres (1579-1639) was born in Lima, Peru, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed Afro-Peruvian woman. Because of his mixed-race background he could not become a full Dominican friar, only a lay brother. He served the sick and poor for over forty years. Canonized in 1962, he became the patron saint of racial harmony.
More novenas
- St. Jude Novena
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena
- St. Joseph Novena
- St. Therese Novena
- St. Anthony of Padua Novena
- St. Rita Novena
Frequently asked questions
When should I start the Novena to Saint Martin de Porres?
Begin on October 25 to end on November 2, the eve of the feast on November 3.
How do I pray the Novena to Saint Martin de Porres?
Pray the daily prayer once a day, and do one act of service.
Who is the Novena to Saint Martin de Porres for?
It is for the poor, for those who work for justice and for barbers.
Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app
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